


Hay or Water?

by Lilium00



Category: Time Crisis (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-02 17:08:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15800931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilium00/pseuds/Lilium00
Summary: In which the VSSE successfully captured the elusive criminal Wild Fang during his operations in Hong Kong. However, the joy didn't last long as Wild Dog kidnapped Evan in retaliation. How would Giorgio handle the terrorist's demands?





	1. Buridan's Ass

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note:
> 
> \- A while ago, I lost control of my life and everything was a flaming mess =u= ! Luckily, I managed to somewhat get back on the steering wheel by now, so I'm back! Anyways, been wanting to write this fic for 2 months. Hoping for this to be a short fic that will finish in 10 chapters or less. We'll see~
> 
> \- Hong Kong because for some reason, it persistently came to mind when I was trying to think up a setting. So pack your bags guys, we're flying to Hong Kong! I've only been there a few times as a kid so I barely remember anything, but I did my best to research (and got super excited when I was reminded of how awesome Hong Kong food is!). Feel free to poke me if you spot anything weird XD
> 
> \- Trivia: This time, all the chapter titles are the names of various paradoxes. Have fun! ;D

**Disclaimer:**

This is a work of fiction and has no connection to any military or law enforcement agencies. Names, characters, business, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, or actual events is purely coincidental. Any trademarks appearing in this work are the property of their respective owners.

* * *

**【Chapter 1: Buridan's Ass】**

_If a donkey that is equally hungry and thirsty is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water, which way will it go?_

* * *

_The Shining Star, Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong 20:09_

It was an exceptionally good evening for VSSE field operatives Giorgio and Evan.

They had been sent to Hong Kong to investigate a poison gas incident, initiated by none other than the feared world terrorists, Wild Dog, Wild Fang and their men. After a long and difficult battle, not only had they succeeded in foiling Wild Dog's plans, they had also managed to capture one of the elusive duo, Wild Fang.

Earlier in the afternoon, Giorgio and Evan had immediately handed Wild Fang over to the other VSSE operatives in Hong Kong, who were to file his papers and send him over to their main headquarters in Europe the next morning. Wild Fang's future interrogation certainly gave everyone hope of figuring out more about Wild Dog's organization and hopefully, how to stop him once and for all. Overjoyed, the Director had greatly praised and congratulated Giorgio and Evan for their success. Giorgio had thanked him, while Evan had grinned smugly.

Their work having finished early, Evan had then asked Giorgio if he wanted to go sightseeing in Hong Kong that night before they had to return to HQ the next morning. Giorgio, thinking that he might as well use some cooling down, decided to amuse Evan. So off they went to one of Hong Kong's top tourism spots, Victoria Harbour, following Evan's recommendation.

"Look  _tonton_  (uncle)! Aren't the lights amazing?" Evan asked, cheerful eyes reflecting the bright city lights as he leaned out against the railing of the deck of the Shining Star.

A passenger ferry operated by the Star Ferry Company, the Shining Star served tourists and traveled a one hour round trip around Victoria Harbour. Everyday at 8 in the evening, the Victoria Harbour would have a 15-minute light and sound show called 'A Symphony of Lights', where all the buildings of the Harbour would light up in beautiful vibrant colours, making it a well-loved attraction. To make it even better, Giorgio and Evan had caught the show at the rare times there were also fireworks, making the view all the more breathtaking. Being able to enjoy the trip without having to worry about unfinished missions, things couldn't get any better.

"Lean out any further, and all the siu mai you're holding will fall into the water," Giorgio teased. Evan laughed, puling himself back and holding his box of dumplings protectively. He continued snacking on it as he watched the lights.

"You know,  _tonton_ , it's not bad to have some relaxing days like this," Evan mused, feeling content.

"Even though you're usually the first to jump in when there's something exciting?" Giorgio asked.

" _Euh_... Yeah, but you know, a break could be good too, every once in a while. Don't you think that criminal activities had been on a rise lately? We keep getting longer jobs," Evan reasoned, looking up at him.

"..."

 _'And those evil men had grown more teeth, too,'_  Giorgio thought. Their missions had certainly gotten more difficult lately. The frequency of new missions being handed to them had increased as well, giving them almost no time to catch their breath. He studied Evan's face closely, noticing how he looked a little tired although he was usually brimming with energy. Giorgio sighed, folding his arms.

"You know, if you're tired, we can ask for some paid holidays when we get back," he suggested.

"And let you go on solo missions while I miss all the action again? Yeah, right," Evan narrowed his eyes at Giorgio with envy. Giorgio was his senior and the Chief still entrusted him with solo missions from time to time, even after he had paired up with Evan. Aside from feeling a little jealous at the special treatment, the last thing Evan wanted was to fall behind.

"Oh, Evan," Giorgio chuckled a little, rather amused. "No, no. Your health comes first, alright? Besides...," he said, putting a hand on Evan's shoulder, "I think that I've been working a lot lately as well, so... I was thinking of coming with you this time. Maybe we can go somewhere together."

"..." At that, Evan's expression suddenly changed as he lit up. His eyes widened, a little glassy as he felt touched. "You... You are...?! Really...?"

Being busy with missions, they had never really gotten much of a chance to go out and have fun together during their 2-year career of being partners, so Evan was thrilled. But a question that bothered him came to mind, and his heart sank.

"But, don't you usually prefer some quiet time alone during holidays so you can relax?" He asked doubtfully, not wanting to bother Giorgio. Giorgio only smiled at him.

"Yeah, but I might as well spend more time with you every once in a while," he repeated, "You're my important partner and I won't trade you for anything. Promise."

"...!" Evan gasped, staring at Giorgio wordlessly. But Giorgio could see the overflowing excitement in his eyes. The beautiful fireworks and bright lights that lit up around them were as though they were expressing his joyful emotions.

"Here, have all my siu mai! It's a gift!" Evan exclaimed happily, immediately shoving his box of dumplings into Giorgio's hands. Wide grin not leaving his face, he then proceeded to lean happily against the ferry's railings again, already dreaming up the most fun ideas on where and how to best spend their holidays.

"You know, maybe we can go to Israel and ride camels! Or maybe pick somewhere closer to home and see the ancient cities of Greece... Or, or! Maybe we can go to Rio again! Our last time there had been crazy!" He suggested idea after idea excitedly.

Giorgio laughed, feeling happy for him.

* * *

_Hotel, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong 03:12_

After having much fun at the ferry, their night was followed by Evan tasting and sharing every Hong Kong street food that he could get his hands on with Giorgio. So far they had tried the siu mai, fishballs, fried chestnuts and egg waffles before their stomachs gave up on them. The two had then returned to their hotel feeling very satisfied. Feeling rather beat after the long day, they had immediately cleaned up, went to bed, and fell sound asleep.

Giorgio was just having a perfect, dreamless sleep among the comfort of his sheets, when he was suddenly woken up by the persistent buzzing of his phone. Jolted awake and feeling disoriented at first, he immediately scrambled for the phone on his bedside table. Grabbing it in the darkness, he sat up groggily and squinted at the glowing screen, the sudden bright light hurting his eyes.

_'3:14 a.m... Which testa di cazzo would call at such an ungodly hourー'_

He had barely finished his thoughts when his sleep-blurred vision focused and he tensed. The caller was one of the Hong Kong VSSE agents in charge of Wild Fang, Agent Steven Wang. The surprise woke Giorgio up and he quickly answered, nervous if something untoward had happened.

"Yes. Bruno here."

"Mr. Bruno, sorry for having woken you up," Steven answered from the other side, calm. "Things are alright, so not to worry. But since we need to send the subject away first thing in the morning, we had a few questions about his reports and documents that need clearing up quickly. We're sorry to disturb you, but could you please come?"

Giorgio let out his breath and sighed in relief. At least it wasn't news of Wild Fang escaping. He glanced over at Evan, who was still sleeping peacefully in the single bed next to him.

"Should Agent Bernard come as well?" Giorgio asked.

"Well, we just need more clarification about the apparatus and facilities that you've encountered during your mission. If only one of you could do it, then one of you would suffice."

Giorgio turned over to sit at the edge of his bed as he listened, facing Evan. Evan had a faint smile on his lipsーmust be dreaming about the fun holidays ahead. Giorgio carefully tidied his partner's sheets and continued watching him as he replied.

"I'll come by myself, then. I'll tell Agent Bernard about it when he wakes up in the morning," he said.

"Alright. We'll be waiting for you."

* * *

_Stanley Prison, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong 04:42_

Stanley Prison, one of the six maximum security prisons in Hong Kong, was where they had decided to detain Wild Fang temporarily. Giorgio had gone there immediately after his call and met up with the three agents in charge of the criminalーSteven and his two colleagues. With how meticulous Giorgio was, he managed to take care of the documents quickly and within an hour, he was done. His colleagues thanked him greatly for his cooperation.

"I hope things will proceed smoothly after this," Giorgio said, "Let's hope that Wild Fang doesn't have anything up his sleeve when he was being transported."

"Oh, Mr. Bruno! You don't have to worry about that," Steven laughed. "HQ said that they had sent one of their best agents to ensure that Wild Fang would be transported safely. He should arrive in a bit."

"Wonder who it is," Giorgio thought aloud.

They said their farewells, then. Giorgio stepped out of the prison's premises afterwards, stopping to look up at the dark skies that were just starting to light up a faint blue. With the last of his work for this mission done, he could finally relax a little. He thought about how Evan would thank him for taking care of the last bit of formalities for him later and smiled proudly to himself. Everything was well.

Then suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, Giorgio took a look at the caller's name.

_'Evan. Speak of the devil. Is he already awake?'_

Giorgio picked up the phone, wondering if Evan had woken up to use the bathroom or something, and was probably surprised when he didn't see him and his things there in the room.

" _Buongiorno, bambino._  (Morning, kid.) Missed me?" He said, chuckling a little. However, to his surprise and astonishment, the man who replied on the other side of the phone wasn't Evan.

"Ah, Agent Bruno, I've certainly missed you," a familiar, dreaded voice replied instead in a singsong way, snickering.

Wild Dog.

Giorgio's eyes widened as he tensed immediately. He rushed into the shadows at the side of the prison, where no one was there to see him.

"Curse you, Wild Dog. What do you want? What did you do to Evan!" He hissed demandingly.

"Oh, relax, my dear Mr. Bruno, your precious friend is safe here with me," Wild Dog replied ever so gently. Giorgio heard the phone being passed over, and then Evan's voice.

"No,  _tonton_! Don't you  _dare_  listen to him! GAH...!"

"Evan!" Giorgio exclaimed as he heard some struggle on the other side of the line. "Wild Dog! Touch him again and we don't have any deal! What in the world do you want?!"

"Oh, but Mr. Bruno, you don't understand who's in power here, do you? I'm free to do whatever I like, as long as I don't kill him, right? Let's say that I'm feeling a little... irritated, at the moment," Wild Dog laughed.

"As for what I want, it's simpleーI want my little apprentice back. Move fast enough and maybe you can get your friend back in one piece. If you fail, I'll make sure that he dies such a slow, painful death that he'd remember it all throughout his next lives. Do we have a deal?"

" _Putain..._  The VSSE will never agree...!" Giorgio could hear Evan's protesting, faint panting voice through the phone.

"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn'tーTrading such an important criminal for just one little junior agent? Unacceptable!" Wild Dog said, "But your friend Mr. Bruno here is different, is he not? That's why I've decided to contact  _him_ , and not your organization. Hahaha...!"

"...," Giorgio gritted his teeth in anger.

"So yes, Mr. Bruno. You only get to keep one of them, so choose wisely," Wild Dog warned. "Wild Fang, or Mr. Bernard?"

Giorgio's frown deepened and his breath quickened, frustrated. They had worked so hard.  _So_  hard. And for the first time in history, the VSSE had succeeded in capturing Wild Fang. Letting him go would cause them to lose all their leads on Wild Dog yet again. His logic told him that the mission and the world always come first, but Evan...

" _Tonton_ ー Giorgio... No...! Please no...," his partner whimpered.

The more time he spent in indecision, the more there was no telling what Wild Dog would do. Giorgio took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He breathed out slowly, calming himself down and clearing his thoughts. Opening his eyes again, he answered against all his better judgement.

"Alright, I'll get Wild Fang for you. Evan had better still be alive when you return him!" He spat angrily.

"Ah, I know you'd say that. Good boyーMr. Bernard must be really happy to have such a caring partner," Wild Dog smirked triumphantly. Seeing that his conditions were being met, he continued to press on.

"Well, considering you're already on location, you have till six o'clockーabout one hour to at least get your hands on Wild Fang before he's sent off. I'll be monitoring you and I'll contact you again," he ordered.

"Move fast Mr. Bruno. Time is ticking~"

* * *

_Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong 04:50_

At the terminal for international arrivals of the Hong Kong International Airport, a certain undercover VSSE agent straightened himself up and stretched a little, loosening up after his long flight from Europe. He took in a deep breath and looked up at the slowly brightening violet skies.

The VSSE had sent him here on an important emergency mission. The famed criminal Wild Fang had been successfully captured by his comrades. His job would be to escort him, and ensure his safe trip back to the HQ in Europe for questioning. He certainly couldn't let his guard down on this one.

A black car pulled over next to him, and another agent in sunglasses stepped out, greeting and addressing him politely.

"Sir, I'm here to pick you up. We'll be heading to Stanley Prison where the subject is detained. The trip would take a little over half an hour," the agent explained concisely. He nodded.

"Thank you. Let's be on our way," he replied coolly.

The fresh morning wind blew through his black leather jacket and jet black hair, and the VSSE's one man army, Agent Richard Miller, was ready for his mission.


	2. Optical Illusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- In the middle of doing new things in real life, so things might suddenly get busy. If I vanish again, just think that Agent Lilium got an emergency call to fight the immortal Wild Dog or something :p  
> I'll be right back once I got matters handled, though! Busy or not, my quota is still one finished multi-chaptered fic per month.  
> A bit late for this fic, but I'll see how much I can finish :D
> 
> \- And of course, I'm still writing Time Crisis: Retribution, too. If that one's delayed, it's usually because Striga and I have problems setting up schedules where we're both available x.x
> 
> \- Also, Hong Kong's kung fu movies are awesome!

**Author's Note:**

\- In the middle of doing new things in real life, so things might suddenly get busy. If I vanish again, just think that Agent Lilium got an emergency call to fight the immortal Wild Dog or something :p  
I'll be right back once I got matters handled, though! Busy or not, my quota is still one finished multi-chaptered fic per month.  
A bit late for this fic, but I'll see how much I can finish :D

\- And of course, I'm still writing Time Crisis: Retribution, too. If that one's delayed, it's usually because Striga and I have problems setting up schedules where we're both available x.x

\- Also, Hong Kong's kung fu movies are awesome!

* * *

**【Chapter 2: Optical Illusion】**

_An illusion caused by the visual system, characterized by a visual percept that appears to be different from the way it is in reality..__

* * *

_Stanley Prison, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong 05:01_

Once he had made his deal with Wild Dog, Giorgio had promptly slipped back into the premises of the Stanley Prison, mentally drafting up plans of how he would get to Wild Fang with the prison's maximum security.

_'Releasing a criminal whom I had just caught myselfーCan you believe this?!'_

Giorgio cursed to himself. His initial panic having died down, the voice of reason was slowly beginning to ebb back into his mind. His higher ups would most certainly chew him out for this. He knew that with the choices he had made, he was being a horrible failure as an agent, but still... It also felt wrong to simply discard Evan just like that. A 'right choice' didn't existーit never did in the first place.

Taking in a deep breath, he inwardly promised his boss that he'd find a way to sort this out somehow. Readying himself and his gun, Giorgio made his move.

* * *

"Wild Fang, you'll be transported shortly, so get ready," the young Hong Kong VSSE agent, Agent Steven Wang, told him. Despite his age, he was known to be skilled in the organization of his teams, making him the higher ups' first choice when choosing the leader for those in charge of overseeing Wild Fang's transportation.

Wild Fang himself was sitting in his cell deep in the prison, disgruntled by the fact that he was behind bars. No matter how much in a pinch he was during his operations, he had always managed to escape with his senior and mentor, Wild Dog. For their organization, it was so much more honorable to die in battle than to be shamefully captured by the enemy. Thus, having his hands cuffed for the first time in his long career, it was an awful blow to his pride. Irritated, Wild Fang spat at the floor.

"Yeah? Like I'll listen to you guys at all! Old man Wild Dog will come here, kick all your asses, and free me before you know it! Just watch!" He laughed.

"Oh, that bluff won't safe you now," Steven replied back, taking it as a challenge. "We've prepared special vehicles and one of our top agents to escort you. No one would be able to get past our defensesーNot even Wild Dog."

"Hahaha, we'll see, my man, we'll see!" Wild Fang laughed, seemingly unfazed. Steven glared at him viciously, put off by his overt confidence.

"Steven, the transports and the men are ready," one of Steven's two colleagues, Agent Raymond Long, came up to him and reported. "The senior agent sent by the VSSE turned out to be our top agent, Agent Richard Miller. He said that he was on the way. We can start with the preparations now and move out the moment he arrives."

"Agent Miller...!" Steven exclaimed, eyes wide in wonder and amazement. Headquarters had sent them the legend. What a gift!

He turned back to Wild Fang, a smug smirk on his face. Wild Fang on the other hand, had all his confidence washed out of him. Eyes wide in horror and mouth agape, he froze there like a deer in headlights.

"You heard that, Wild Fang. There's certainly no escape for you now," Steven grinned triumphantly.

* * *

Meanwhile outside, Giorgio had walked to the back of the prison building, looking at the police vehicles being parked and prepared there. Despite it still being the wee hours of the morning, the prison's parking lot was already abuzz with activity. The cars' engines hummed, their blue and red lights were turned on, and countless officers were moving to and fro everywhere, passing orders, reviewing their equipments, and obviously getting ready for something big.

From what he had been briefed, the prisoner transport van in the middle would be carrying Wild Fang to an air base, where he would then be transported by the VSSE's private jet to their HQ in Europe. Six police cars would travel around the van as escort and guard, as well as eight more policemen on motorcycles to act as support and help with the traffic.

 _'And also that one more VSSE agent...,'_  Giorgio thought.

He wondered who it could be. But considering that it was for the escort of someone as important as Wild Fang, he imagined that the Director wouldn't send him a small fry. He'd prefer to get this over with before whoever that was arrives. Scanning the field, Giorgio frantically searched for a loophole that he could use, attempting to think up a feasible plan.

"Agent Bruno! You still here?"

When he suddenly heard someone calling out from behind, Giorgio froze and turned around. He noticed his fellow VSSE colleague there, waving at him and walking towards him. It was Herman Long, Agent Raymond Long's little brotherーa rookie who just got into the organization fairly recently. When he got to him, Giorgio quickly thought up an excuse.

"Well, I was just about to go back to the hotel," he blurted out hurriedly. "But Wild Fang wouldn't leave my mind. Thought that I'll just stay here and watch over the area from the sidelines until he's safely transported."

"Agent Bruno...! Iー...," Herman said, surprised. "That's so responsible of you! Just as expected from one of the VSSE's best!" He continued, looking at Giorgio with great admiration and brightly lit eyes.

"Why... Thank you...?" Giorgio tried to reply politely. Herman started again excitedly.

"Say, say! I just finished reporting everything to Agent Wang and now my hands are free. I know that I'm still a rookie, but can I offer you any assistance? Please?" He asked eagerly.

Giorgio couldn't help but smile at him a little, Herman reminding him slightly of Evan's bubbly attitude during his days as a new recruit. How eager to please they both were!

"..." The thought of simply manipulating and using the naïve young man to reach his goals surfaced in Giorgio's mind soon enough. For a moment, he played with the idea. Everything would be so easy...

But no. Giorgio was no criminal. Thinking it over, he quickly shoved the wrongly alluring option away.

"No," he answered gently. "Sorry, but no, I'll be alright here by myself." To his reply, Herman looked a little heartbroken.

"O... Okay...," he said, his earlier bold posture now drooping low.

"But it's Wild Fang. Who knows, Wild Dog might just show up at the last second to mess everything up," Giorgio added seriously, turning to face Herman.

"I'll do what I have to do and you do what you have to. Don't let your guard down and tell your brother and Wang to be careful, alright?" He advised, patting Herman on the shoulder with a firm hand. "Be a good agent."

Upon hearing Giorgio's words, Herman cheered up again, happy that his senior seemed to trust him. "Okay! Leave it to me!" He replied cheerily, before trotting off to Wang with light steps, humming a happy tune.

Giorgio sighed, smiling a little as he watched the young agent's retreating form. As a senior, he certainly wouldn't want to break the hearts of new recruits with what he was doing, or rather,  _forced_  to do. So he might as well put up an illusion if he had to, even if it would make his life more difficult later on.

The problem with Herman solved, Giorgio looked back at the police cars. The best time to swoop in and snatch Wild Fang was probably when he was in the middle of being put into the transport van... Preferably before the VSSE's backup agent arrives. He only had this one chance.

Slightly nervous if he could carry out the act armed with only one handgun, Giorgio focused his thoughts and waitedーa lion in the tall grass with eyes on his prey.


	3. Morton's Fork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 days left to the end of the month! *writes like there's no tomorrow* x'DDD

**【Chapter 3: Morton's Fork】**

_A type of false dilemma in which contradictory observations lead to the same conclusion._   
_For example, "Someone living modestly must be saving money and, therefore, could afford taxes. Whereas someone living extravagantly obviously was rich and, therefore, could afford taxes."_

* * *

_Stanley Prison, Hong Kong Island 05:27_

"Don't touch me!" Wild Fang growled in protest as Agent Steven and his comrades forcefully attempted to bring him to the prisoner transport van. A highly dangerous criminal, they had made sure to tie him up in a strait jacket as an extra safety measure.

"Where's your confidence now?" Steven couldn't help teasing him with a snicker. Payback for looking down on the VSSE back at the cell. Raymond and Herman followed behind them quietly with several Hong Kong Police Force officers behind them. Herman gulped a little nervously, recalling Giorgio's words that they couldn't let their guard down just yet.

"Well, from here on, you can leave it to us. Just sit back and enjoy the trip," Steven suggested.

"Whaー?!" Wild Fang's words were cut short as the police officers pulled a cloth covering over his head.

From the distance, Giorgio watched as the group exited the prison building and made their way into the parking lot. The white, bundled up form that was supposedly Wild Fang was being as uncooperative as ever. His heartbeat quickened as they moved closer until they were standing just next to the van. That was his cue. Giorgio sprung into action.

He aimed his gun at the police car furthest from the crowd of people who had gathered up near the van. Holding his breath, he shot thrice at the car's petrol tank, surprising everyone with the loud gunshots. But before anyone could recover from the surprise and react, he pulled out a lighter and a rock around which he had tied his handkerchief.

Lighting the handkerchief up, he immediately tossed the makeshift incendiary towards the puddle of petrol that had leaked from his earlier bullet holes. The fire caught on the petrol and lapped up to the car's petrol tank in an instant. To the officers' further shock, the car blew up suddenly.

"Everyone! Be on guard! Secure the subject!" Steven commanded immediately. Worried that the transport van might explode as well, his group moved away from it, deciding not to do anything rash. Some of the officers had rushed to the exploded car to investigate it, the others scanned the horizon for the culprit.

To think that things actually decided to mess up on the last of the last second! Herman took out his gun and looked around worriedly.

"Stay back! We'll take care of this. Watch the prisoner," his elder brother Raymond warned. Herman nodded.

Gripping confusion and panic had spread throughout the entire parking lot. Good. Giorgio's plan was working. Using the myriad of vehicles in the area as cover, Giorgio bent low and quickly made his way behind Steven's group. His job was made easy as everyone's attention was focused on the exploded police car, having all their backs turned to him.

Soon he had arrived behind the car nearest to Wild Fang. Herman was standing there right next to his target.

 _'...I'm so sorry,'_  Giorgio apologized mentally.

With a quick move, he tackled Herman from behind, sending him screaming in shock and crashing face down to the ground.

"What?!" Steven and Raymond exclaimed almost in unison, turning to face their comrade.

But before they could see what happened or who did what, Giorgio had snatched the VSSE smoke bomb from Herman's waist and thrown it at them. A sudden blast, and a huge area of the parking lot was suddenly covered in thick smoke.

"Herman!" Raymond called out, coughing.

Giorgio could feel Herman struggling to toss him off under him. To avoid having to hurt him further, Giorgio decided to knock the young agent out with a clean hit.

"What is happening...?!" Wild Fang yelled, voice muffled by the cloth covering his head. Giorgio grabbed him by the arm and threw him roughly into the front seat of a police car, which was already started and ready for departure.

"Oof!" Wild Fang exclaimed as he fell in sideways, his head amazingly slamming against the gear lever.

Urgent shouts echoed around the smoke covered lot, and Giorgio knew he needed to hurry. Slamming the door shut, he hurriedly ran to the other side and jumped into the driver's seat. He quickly shut the door, sliding the gear lever to the maximum speed, and then slamming his foot onto the pedal. And off they went driving out of the smoke and out the prison. One of the officers saw them leave and panicked.

"The prisoner! He's escaping!" He shouted. Steven and Raymond looked that way, watching the car disappear down the street.

"Oh, no! Not on my watch!" Steven growled angrily. From his pocket, he produced a remote.

* * *

Giorgio let out his breath. He had successfully left the Stanley Prison behind with Wild Fang in tow. Even better, he had managed to accomplish it without anyone seeing that he was the one behind this.

"What! In the world! Is happening?!" Wild Fang suddenly yelled beside him, totally not amused that he was being roughly tossed around all over the place like some rag doll. From how carelessly he was being handled, he could immediately tell that it wasn't someone from his organizationーhis men wouldn't dare to treat the boss' apprentice in such a crude way like that.

Giorgio reached out and ripped off the cloth covering Wild Fang's face. Seeing Giorgio, Wild Fang's eyes widened in disbelief and shock.

"THE FUCK!" He exclaimed as he involuntarily scrambled back against the door beside him in terror, stunned. Memories of Giorgio and Evan beating him up bad and then handing him over to the authorities yesterday were still fresh in his mind. Even so, he wondered what the VSSE agent could possibly be up to.

"Just shut up and listen to me if you want to live! Now keep quiet so I can concentrate!" Giorgio lashed at him without taking his eyes off the road.

But just when he thought he had put some distance away from the prison to be somewhat in the clear, a sudden scream from Wild Fang shocked him.

"AARGH!" He yelled loudly in pain, his body arching and twisting as if some great evil had befallen him.

 _"Minchia!"_  Giorgio cursed, frantically attempting to figure out what was happening. An instant later, his mind came up with the possibility that Wild Fang was wearing a powerful stun belt under his strait jacket as a part of his prisoner transport gear.

Steven's orders must have been simpleー'In case of prisoner escape, eliminate the threat.' Giorgio was forced to pull over and stop at the side of the road.

Quickly taking out his folding knife, he ripped through Wild Fang's strait jacket and hurriedly pulled open the stun belt's straps, tossing the offending object to the back seat. Wild Fang calmed down and panted, trying to bite back remnants of the pain.

That seemed to solve the problem. But before either of them could catch their breaths, the wailing sirens of police vehicles could be heard approaching from the direction of the prison. Glancing to the back, a huge number of them was seen speeding towards their car, closing in quickly.

 _"Merda!"_  Ditching Wild Fang to take care of himself, Giorgio got back to his seat and slammed down on the pedal again.

Having enough confidence in his driving skills, he drove towards the civilian streets to make his pursuers' lives a little more difficult. The city was just waking up for the day's work and the streets were just starting to get slightly crowded. Wild Fang, still unsure of what was happening, could only brace himself for the ride.

"You better not kill us!" He exclaimed, struggling against the binds of his strait jacket and terrorized by Giorgio's dangerous twist and turns.

Luckily enough for Giorgio, the police on his trail was reluctant to start a shootout or drive too fast among the civilian cars. Several other police vehicles had appeared in front of him, blocking off the road. But with a few risky shortcuts, he was able to put some distance between them and find a safe route. Eventually, he lost his pursuers altogether and they were traveling by themselves on the highway. The sounds of police sirens dying down far behind them, Giorgio and Wild Fang breathed in relief.

Giorgio glanced back to see if anyone was still tailing them just to be sure. No one was there, so they were safe. Or no, he was sure that the police was still chasing them, but couldn't get to them, so they must be safe. He glanced at the car's digital clock.

5:51... He made it! Things should be alright for now. Giorgio paid attention to any buzzing from his phone, expecting a call from Wild Dog any minute. But just when he thought he could calm down, a sudden morbid realization dawned upon him, and all the colour left his face.

The highway was quiet. Too quiet. In fact, he had not seen any civilian cars since he had entered it. He thought that he had escaped, but could he possibly have been... led?

The cars that had shown up to block the road most likely hadn't been there to stop him, but to specifically cut off his route choices and direct him here to an evacuated area. He had been so caught up in escaping that he had failed to consider that. Unbeknown to Giorgio, a police helicopter was now following him from behind high above.

"Should I lower the altitude and get closer, sir!" The helicopter pilot suggested over the loud batting of the rotor blades.

"No, this should be fine."

With his ever calm face, Agent Richard Miller leaned out of the helicopter, bringing up his Mk 12 Special Purpose Rifle, peering through its scope.

On his way to the Stanley Prison, he had been contacted by Agent Raymond and told that an attack had happenedーWild Fang was on the run. So Richard had stopped en route, requested backup from the nearest police station, and came up with a quick plan to isolate the target. The escapees seemingly unaware, his plan seemed to have worked. He thanked the local police's quick response.

With an experienced, steady hand and a good aim, Richard pulled his rifle's trigger. His single bullet flew perfectly through the still morning air into the escaping police car's back tire, easily taking it out with one clean shot.

Giorgio and Wild Fang cursed when they felt a sudden jerk at the back left side of their car, their tyre giving out on them. Losing balance and control, the vehicle swerved to the left and crashed hard against the highway's fence, luckily without rolling over. Thank the air bags, Giorgio and Wild Fang didn't break their necks in the process.

"..." Wordlessly, Giorgio forced himself to overcome his disorientation. Pulling down at the air bags to look ahead past the shattered windshield, he saw a thick black smoke rising out of his car's crushed engine. There was no way this car was moving now.

Fearing the possibility that the car might catch fire and explode, he quickly dragged himself out of it, went to the other side, and pulled Wild Fang out. Quickly undoing Wild Fang's leather binds, Giorgio freed him so he'd at least have some mobility and make himself useful.

"The highway has been blocked! Come quietly!" They heard the helicopter pilot warn them as the aircraft approached.

It landed a little away from them, and Richard stepped out of it, much to Giorgio's surprise and dread when he saw who he was up against. The greatest and most feared executor of justice had descended upon the battlefield. The heavens would have no mercy on him. Even so, Richard himself couldn't be more surprised either when he discovered the culprit behind the prison break.

"Agent Bruno?" He asked, the situation suddenly not making sense to him.


	4. Moore's Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- GWAAAAHHHー! *unleashes all my power to update quickly*  
> 4 days left! I want to at least get two third of this fic done by the end of this month! (Can't believe I can actually write this fast if I try =u=)
> 
> \- Wild Fang's pretty fun to write XDDD

**【Chapter 4: Moore's Paradox】**

_"It's raining, but I don't believe that it is raining."_

* * *

_Blocked off highway, Hong Kong Island 05:58_

"Agent Bruno. What's the meaning of this?" Richard questioned, his confusion building up. He had fully expected either Wild Dog or one of his men to step out of the car. Seeing Giorgio there instead had left him fully unprepared. Was this a betrayal?

"Aren't you the one who had captured Wild Fang yourself?" He pressed on, eyes searching for answers.

"...," Giorgio hesitated, unsure of how to explain his situation.

"Where's Agent Bernard?" Richard asked, Evan being nowhere in sight. For all he knew, Evan could have been conspiring with Giorgio, or much worseーdead.

"About that...," Giorgio started, only to get stuck again mid sentence as he began to panic. His car broken down, there was no escape for him or Wild Fang now. Perhaps trying to talk this out with Richard and settle the situation in a diplomatic manner was his best choice. Calming down and collecting himself, he straightened himself up and started over.

"Agent Miller, sorry for all the mess, but...," he sighed, "I had let my guard down. Wild Dog kidnapped Evan early this morning and asked for Wild Fang in exchangeー"

"And you gave in to his demands?" Richard asked incredulously. "Mr. Bruno, did you know how many lives you're putting at risk? Why didn't you contact the higher upsー"

"Because I  _know_  that you'd just tell me to sacrifice Evan for the better good!" Giorgio cut him. "And that too, without a second thought! You'd have known, too. It's a lost cause!"

"...," Richard looked at him silently.

Wild Fang watched the fierce exchange between the two agents, feeling tense himself. He was glad to have finally understood the situation, but felt that his own fate hung on the outcome of their argument. Richard continued to glare at him and Giorgio. The top agent then broke the silence, talking into his earpiece.

"Mission control, Agent Miller reporting. We have a hostage situation. Wild Dog seemed to have asked for Wild Fang's release in exchange for a captured Agent Bernard's life. What are my orders?"

"...," Giorgio watched him worriedly. The momentary silence as they waited for an answer seemed to stretch on forever. Finally, Richard spoke. Despite the quickness of the higher ups' decision being natural and even required of their profession, Giorgio felt a little hurt.

"I'm sorry, Mr Bruno," Richard said, taking out his gun and pointing it at him. "The day we became agents of the VSSE, we had sworn to put the world's safety before our own lives and interests. If you're going to go against that oath, I'm afraid I'll have to stop you."

Giorgio sighed, things turning out exactly as he had feared. He glanced at Richard's helicopter as his only possible escape route, before looking back at the top agent.

"Guess there's no other way," he said, taking out his handgun as well, ready for the duel.

The next instant, the two of them fell into a quick dash, running and shooting at each otherーNot to kill, but to disable, aiming mainly for the arms and legs.

Despite being highly skilled himself, Giorgio knew that he was no match for Richard, who was practically a genius at his job. Richard, being the veteran of veterans, moved, shot and reloaded at lighting speed, as if he was using some kind of cheat code. Giorgio twisted out of the way just in time to narrowly evade a bullet to his right shoulder, only to have Richard close in on him before he could regain his balance.

He winced in pain as he suddenly felt his right arm being grabbed. The next moment, Richard made a quick twist and swung him over his back, slamming him down hard against the ground.

"...!" Giorgio gasped as he felt all the air being knocked out of his lungs.

Richard pointed his gun at Giorgio's head. He was just about to say something, but a sudden, unexpected hard kick to the head sent him crashing against the asphalt a few meters away.

Alert and not letting his guard down, Richard quickly rolled back up onto one knee, a drop of blood trickling down from his now bruised cheek. He glared sharply at his offender.

"Tch, not very nice of you to just forget about me," Wild Fang smirked smugly, slowly lowering his leg from the air.

Richard glanced at his helicopter pilot, seeing him having been knocked out cold a little away from them. He glared back at Wild Fang. Giorgio forced himself to stand back up.

"..."

Well, it wasn't as if Richard was just going to let them win. Neatly pushing his gun back into its holster, he lunged forward at Wild Fang.

"What?!" Wild Fang was caught by surprise at the sudden boldness. He quickly readied a kick, only to have Richard almost too easily slide past it beside his leg. In a blink, Richard had delivered a full, hard punch straight into the middle of his face, effectively breaking his nose and crushing his precious round purple glasses in the process.

"U-waaAAAA...!" Wild Fang's loud cry filled the area as he flew through the air, crashing roughly and sliding against the ground with broken shards of purple. Blood flowed from his nose.

"Aaaaaa...," he groaned miserably, trailing off as his consciousness faded.

"Too easy to read," Richard commented, quickly turning around to take care of Giorgio, except that Giorgio had thrown himself at him first, grabbing him tightly by the waist.

"...?!" Richard gasped in surprise.

Giorgio yelled, using his full weight to push Richard towards the highway's netted iron fence with abandon. They crashed against it roughly with Richard's back on the fence. Richard wrestled him hard, turning them around so that he was the one forcing Giorgio onto the wall, gaining the advantage.

"You can't win, Mr. Bruno, and I'd hate to hurt you. Stop this at once!" Richard ordered. Giorgio struggled against him, but then his scowl turned into a smirk, surprising Richard.

"No one said I was trying to defeat you."

"?!"

In a blink, Giorgio smacked one end of a handcuff around Richard's right wrist. Richard instinctively attempted to pull away, but Giorgio had immediately slapped the handcuff's other end around one of the net fence's supporting iron poles, keeping him in place. Snatching Richard's gun out of its holster to further disable him, Giorgio then leapt away to put some distance between them.

Richard yanked hard at his handcuff, but it only rattled against the unmoving the iron pole stubbornly, his efforts to free himself in vain. Realizing that there was nothing he could do now, he glared up at Giorgio.

"The police car I was riding had useful equipments," Giorgio said, tossing the handcuff's key up and down lightly before pocketing it. He tossed Richard's gun away from them, out of reach.

"Mr. Bruno...!" Richard called out in protest.

Just when Giorgio thought that he could at least take a breath, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He tensed. Slowly taking it out, he looked at the caller's name on the screen.

_'Evan'..._

Frowning nervously, he clicked the phone's answer button, slowly bringing the device up to his ear. Richard watched him carefully.

"Well done, Mr. Bruno, well done!" He could hear Wild Dog laughing and clapping on the other side. "My, to have Agent Miller get involved in all this! I almost thought that you wouldn't make it! Hahaha! I'd very much love to ask you to shoot him down right there, but it wouldn't be fair on our deal now, would it?"

"Enough with the chitchat, Wild Dog! Your puppy's here now. Where do you want me to put him?" Giorgio lashed out angrily and impatiently. "And Evan had better still be okay over there!"

"Oh, easy~! I have him right here," Wild Dog chuckled ominously, shifting the phone. Evan's weak, fragile whimpers were heard, laced thickly with deep sobs.

"Giorgio...  _Non..._  Don't want to... be here... Help..."

"Evan...! What are you doing to him?! Are you planning to call off the deal?!"

"Oh, but Mr. Bruno, I only said that I'd return him aliveーDidn't say anything about not touching him, didn't I? Besides, a little stress would give you more motivation to see to it that Wild Fang gets delivered here safely and quickly, don't you agree?" Wild Dog mocked.

"...," Giorgio gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Good. Now I want you to go north to the Wan Chai District. I'll be giving you further instructions as you go," Wild Dog directed. "And come alone. If I see you bringing Agent Miller or anyone else to mess with my place, you know what would happen," he added threateningly, before abruptly turning off his phone.

"..."

Giorgio just stood there in desperate silence, listening to the long, hollow toot of the hung up phone. But knowing that he couldn't waste his time, he steeled himself. Quietly putting his phone away, he looked up at Richard.

"Mr. Bruno...," Richard said, "Don't do this." In reply, Giorgio sighed, eyes downcast.

"Agent Miller... What is the value of one life...?" He said. "You've fought to rescue Miss MacPherson during that one mission, so I'm sure you understand. Are we supposed to treat Evan differently? Turn a blind eye and pretend that his life meant nothing just because he's one of our agents...?"

"...!"

Giorgio walked over to lift Wild Fang's unconscious body. Slinging him over his shoulder, he carried him and dumped him at the back of Richard's helicopter. He then turned back to look at Richard with a determined look.

"Yes, I know that we have a problem. But let's say, I think that we don't. Give me until midnight, and I'll come back to you with Evan and Wild Fang..."

"And Wild Dog," Giorgio growled with seething anger.

With that, he climbed into the helicopter. The batting of its rotor blades soon filled the air, and the aircraft took off. Silently, Richard watched the helicopter as it slowly disappeared into the now bright morning skies.


	5. Abilene Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the feeling that I'm going to bust 10 chapters~ =u=;;;  
> (Will probably hit 13 chapters or so, I think?)

**【Chapter 5: Abilene Paradox】**

_People can make decisions based not on what they actually want to do, but on what they think that other people want to do, resulting in everybody doing something that nobody actually wanted to do._

* * *

_Stanley Prison, Hong Kong Island 06:42_

Having lost Giorgio and Wild Fang, the Hong Kong VSSE agents and the officers of the local police had regrouped back at the Stanley Prison. The hall in which they had all gathered had been instantly filled with loud chatter and tumultuous hubbub, the aggressive air in the room becoming heavy and choking.

"They've removed our GPS from Wild Fang as well. It's impossible track them now," one of the officers reported.

"Agent Bruno... One of the most trusted VSSE agents turning his back on us! Something must be done about this!"

"He had let his feelings get the better of him."

"We understand that Agent Bernard is also one of our heroes for having captured Wild Fang. But if the criminal's just going to be set free again, his work would have meant nothing!"

Leaning against the room's far wall with his arms folded and a frown, Richard watched the room argue vehemently from the sidelines.

Having heard no news from Richard during his fight with Giorgio, his support team had rushed in to aid him, only to find him handcuffed to the fence and Wild Fang nowhere in sight. The police had freed him and brought him back, then. And Richard had told them about the culprit behind the jailbreak, as well as Evan's hostage situation.

Needless to say, his report stirred up a huge controversy among the officers, with a majority saying that Giorgio must be hunted down and put to justice. Richard glanced to the side at the young agent Herman, who was just standing nearby.

Like him, Herman was watching the developments of the argument quietly. He looked tense, as if he had something to say, but not daring to voice his opinion because of his low position and authority as a rookie.

"Silence!" Steven finally said, taking the lead with his charismatic personality.

"Gentlemen, every second we waste arguing here is Wild Dog getting closer to his goal. If we lose Wild Fang, we won't only lose a criminal, but also our entire hope and possibility of taking down Wild Dog's organization. Think of how much future terrorist activities we could have stopped and weigh the risks on a scale," he reminded.

"..." Everyone in the room fell quiet, realizing how big the actual size of their responsibility was.

"Our job right now isn't to judge whether Agent Bruno's actions are right or wrong, or if he should be punished or not. Our job is to find a way to stop him at all cost before he could pass Wild Fang back to Wild Dog," Steven continued.

"As for Agent Bernard, he's a great agent and an important asset for the VSSE, but our leaders had said that they're willing to sacrifice him when push comes to shove, so charge on without worry. For everyone's sake, we can't let feelings get in our way!"

As he ended his speech, the crowd of officers cheered. Richard saw how even the ones who had sided with Giorgio earlier suddenly changed their minds and focused on recapturing Wild Dog as well.

Herman on the other hand, gulped nervously, staying at the sidelines. Richard watched him with a little curiosity.

* * *

_Local Chinese restaurant, Wan Chai, Wan Chai District, Hong Kong Island 07:12_

Giorgio took another small bite from his rice noodle roll, not really sure if he had any appetite despite the food being delicious. Wild Fang, his broken nose having been cleaned and treated, sat across him with his congee, mourning over his favourite glasses' twisted and broken frame. None of the other guests around them ateーAll their eyes were fixed on the strange duo suspiciously, as if afraid that they might start something dangerous.

They were in a small, rather questionable local restaurant, which was located in an equally questionable alley. Despite the breaking news of Wild Fang's escape airing on the restaurant's television just a few minutes ago, none of the other guests nor the waiters said anything about it or tried to call the cops.

Upon closer inspection, many of the guests had tattoos and old nasty scars. A few sported bulges in their coats which couldn't be anything else but hidden weapons. The ones sitting in the corner were freely gambling away over Old Hong Kong Mahjong and Chinese chess. Seeing them, Giorgio was immediately convinced that everyone sitting around him were local thugs and fellow outlaws. He sighed in exasperation, burying his face in his hands, sure that he was also a wanted criminal just like all of them by now.

Some half an hour ago, the moment he had arrived at Wan Chai, Giorgio had been told to head to a certain alley on foot. Thankfully, Wild Fang had regained consciousness by then. There, they were met by two of Wild Dog's men who had been waiting for them. They promptly extracted Wild Fang's GPS from his neck and treated his wounds, welcoming him back gleefully. Giorgio was then told to head over to the Kowloon Walled City Park in Kowloon City when he was ready. The mysterious men then vanished back into the winding alleys from where they had come.

Wild Fang's stomach had growled the loudest after that, so they had decided to grab a quick breakfast before heading out and here they were in this restaurant, on Wild Fang's suggestion. Giorgio continued glaring daggers at the terrorist sitting in front of him, mentally blaming him for ruining his entire life and career in just the past two hours.

"Oh, come on, don't be so grumpy!" Wild Fang groaned, pouring some leong cha, the Chinese herbal tea, into Giorgio's empty cup. Giorgio drank it out of respect for the drink, not wanting to let it go to waste.

Hoping to get away from his depressing situation for a moment, he pulled out his phone. Opening his photos folder, he absentmindedly scrolled through his old pictures.

Evan's annoyed scowl from their first days of being partnered together, when nothing seemed to work out between them. Evan's acknowledging smile when they succeeded their first difficult mission together, earning each other's respect and trust. Evan's smug grin at the rare times he managed to win against Giorgio by luck. Evan's happy countenance whenever they were together...

_And who knows, he might never see him again._

Inadvertently, Giorgio had just made himself more depressed. He was about to put the phone away when he suddenly caught Wild Fang peering over his shoulder at his phone screen.

"Cute kid," Wild Fang commented with a teasing whistle. Giorgio almost got a heart attack and pulled away immediately.

"Did no one ever teach you about privacy and personal space?!" He scolded.

"Hahaha, sorry! Just wondering what you could be looking at so seriously!" Wild Fang laughed. Giorgio gave him a death glare.

"You! This is all your fault!" He lashed out angrily.

He had always been known as one of the calmest and most patient of the VSSE agents, but all the chaotic events in the morning were taking their toll on him, and he couldn't bottle it up any longer. He felt as though he was going to explode just having to bear sitting right next to the criminal before him.

"Do you know how many rules and oaths I've had to break since the morning just to save your sorry ass?!" Giorgio raised his voice threateningly.

"Hey, hey~ Everyone had their own agendas, alright? Ours just had to cross paths and you just happened to be a little unlucky," Wild Fang replied easily, his grin not leaving his face as he felt no guilt at all.

"I've never even wanted to do any of this!" Continued Giorgio in frustration.

"Oh, really?" Wild Fang asked, leaning against the table lazily. " _You_  are the one who had made the choice to disobey your higher ups for your partner, aren't you?"

"...," Giorgio looked away, still seething.

Great, now  _he_  was the one responsible. Richard's judging and scrutinizing glare came back to mind. Thoughts of being fired from the VSSE upon his return, if he ever did, immediately plagued him and he felt lost. He began to regret everything. Ideas that maybe he'd still be forgiven if he turn back now had started whispering in his ears and he looked utterly miserable. To his surprise, Wild Fang didn't make fun of him.

"Why, well done, Mr. Bruno."

"...?"

"That kid Bernard's important to you, right? I'd say that I'm quite impressed that you'd actually dare to go against the rules to get what you want. We the Wild Dogs value freedom like that," Wild Fang explained, smirking. "Although it turned out to be messy like this, deep down, you know that you had made the right choice, don't you?"

"..."

_'You're my important partner and I won't trade you for anything.'_

His own words to Evan right before he was kidnapped came back to him. He loathed how Wild Fang's clumping him together with his criminal underlings, but now that he thought about it over again, what he said held a shard of truth.

So far, Giorgio had only been clinging onto what he thought everyone wanted him to do, doing his best to fulfill everyone's expectations without paying any attention to his own wishes. So naturally, everything had felt wrong. Earning a new insight, he thought things over again, reorganizing his thoughts.

He'd get Evan back, whatever the consequences. He can worry about the things that would happen to him later, once he had completed this self-imposed mission.

Finishing his breakfast, Giorgio tidied himself and stood up, now speaking with a bolder, doubtless voice.

"Come. Let's get going before the police gets here."


	6. Achilles and the Tortoise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because we have to make Giorgio's life more difficult :D  
> Do your best, Giorgio! XDD

**【Chapter 6: Achilles and the Tortoise】**

_Achilles is in a footrace with a tortoise, where the tortoise is allowed a head start of 100 meters. By the time Achilles reaches the tortoise's current position, the tortoise would have moved a little further ahead, which goes on indefinitely. In this case, will Achilles ever overtake the tortoise?_

* * *

_Kowloon Walled City Park, Kowloon City, Kowloon, Hong Kong 07:57_

The Kowloon Walled City Park was a beautiful, spacious park and tourism spot located in Kowloon City. The day being nice and sunny, Giorgio and Wild Fang strolled down the neat cobbled pathway among the bright, blooming flowers, Wild Fang walking in front with a black disposable face mask put on to hide his identity. The lovely morning sunlight filtered through the trees, songbirds chirped merrily, and colourful butterflies flittered by all around them... And Giorgio couldn't feel so much more weirded out about his current situationーan agent of justice strolling with a criminal in a park.

_Evan said yesterday that he'd have loved to visit this place together if they had the time..._

What happened afterwards was really too bad. Before he knew it, Giorgio was already staring at Wild Fang's back and trying to imagine that the one walking in front of him was Evan instead.

He had never really thought about it before, but now he was beginning to feel how strange it was to not have Evan's sometimes annoying but nevertheless comforting presence right next to him during a mission. They had been together too much, and now he was beginning to have that empty sensation when a huge part of his life that was supposed to be there wasn't there anymore.

A passing thought made him wonder if Wild Dog felt the same about Wild Fang, and maybe they were both just doing the exact same thingーputting in everything they have in order to win back their precious partner. Either way, realizing that he'd better focus on what was ahead, Giorgio forced himself to control his thoughts and get his head back into the present.

* * *

After breakfast earlier, Giorgio and Wild Fang had gone out the alley towards a meeting point in a somewhat shady electronics store. More of Wild Dog's men were there, as if they were checkpoints on his way to the underworld. With them all over the place like this, Giorgio wondered why Wild Dog didn't just take Wild Fang right there and then, and close their deal quickly. He supposed that he was required in order to ensure a safe trip, in case the VSSE and the police decided to strike again en route. Seeing that this would be a good chance for him to pinpoint Wild Dog's location and catch him as well, Giorgio didn't complain.

Wild Fang having been handed a phone at the store, the men had helped them go across the strait from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon without being detected afterwards. Now they were walking in the Kowloon Walled City Park as per Wild Dog's directions.

Giorgio put his hands in his pockets and pondered as he looked around, studying the park's gorgeous plants and buildings. He remembered reading about how this place used to be an ungoverned, literally lawless settlement known as the 'Kowloon Walled City', an area controlled by the local triads. It had been rife with prostitution, gambling and drug abuse, being notorious and feared even by the police in the past, until it was finally demolished by the government in the 1990s. But with such a charming park built over it now, nobody would have ever guessed as there was no trace left of the dark past that it used to hold.

_...Or was there?_

If Wild Dog had invited them here, he must be up to something more than just to have them stroll peacefully among the beautiful flowery shrubs. Giorgio stayed alert as they eventually arrived at their destination within the parkーthe Garden of Chinese Zodiac.

"We're here," Wild Fang said.

Little white statues of the twelve animals that formed the Chinese zodiac could be seen placed in a circle on the ground in the clearing before them. Wild Fang walked over to one of themーthe Dog. He glanced around for a moment, making sure that the other visitors weren't looking. Then he quietly pressed a hidden indentation behind the dog's head, placing his hand in front of its eyes afterwards.

It surprised Giorgio a little, then. He swore that he saw the dog statue's eyes project some kind of beam, scanning Wild Fang's fingerprint. A little, almost inaudible ping signifying some sort of confirmation could be heard from the statue afterwards.

"There! The passage is open!" Wild Fang said cheerily, before heading off with light steps, looking happy that he was almost home. For a moment, Giorgio continued glaring at the dog statue suspiciously, before turning around and following Wild Fang.

Wild Fang led him to a tall bush behind the row of trees and hedges at the lonely edge of the area. They then circled behind it, out of public view. Giorgio saw some steel hidden under a pile of dried grass, which Wild Fang brushed aside with a foot to reveal some sort of manhole. Looking closely, the steel cover had a relief of the fierce face of a snarling dog embossed on it. Wild Fang bent down on one knee, grabbing the steel cover by the handle and twisting it, opening the secret passage.

"In you go," Wild Fang said, motioning at Giorgio with a tilt of his head.

Giorgio shot him a suspicious look, before peering down into the hole. There seemed to be a dark tunnel under them. He wondered what was down there, and began weighing whether or not it was safe for him to jump into the den of the lion by himself, barely equipped with anything as he was.

"You wanna see your friend or not?" Wild Fang urged.

"..." Not bothering to reply to him, Giorgio walked ahead and lowered himself in. Wild Fang followed behind him, shutting the manhole again. Giorgio heard some mechanical sounds as some gears spun to lock the manhole back in place, sealing the entrance, as well as exit, to the outside world.

* * *

_Kowloon Walled City 08:27_

Once they've reached the end of the long, dimly lit tunnel below the manhole, Giorgio couldn't believe his eyes. He saw the Kowloon Walled City, which he thought to have been completely demolished, sprawled across the wide underground cavern right in front of them.

The city was exactly as he had seen them in photographsーcrowded and densely populated, except that this time, everything was underground. Buildings were clumped so closely together like the honeycombs of a beehive, with almost no space to breathe. Brothels and shady gang members doing various illegal activities filled the landscape as far as the eye can see. Danger lurked in every corner and the most unspeakable of vices permeated the settlement and its citizens.

"Why so surprised? This is a beautiful place to be doing business, so we simply have one of our bases here," Wild Fang laughed. "When the government said that they were going to tear down the place, we simply migrated underground."

Looking around, Giorgio could see Wild Dog's syndicate's logo painted on the walls of several of the buildings, confirming Wild Fang's words. Had Wild Dog kept Evan in here?

"Well, let's go. Old man Wild Dog should be just up ahead," Wild Fang said. Giorgio nodded. His gut feeling already disliking the area. He hoped that he could get this over with and leave quickly.

_'Just wait, Evan. I'll be right there...'_

Unfortunately, his luck had to run out yet again, and it wasn't even because of the local gangsters.

"My, my... Mr. Bruno! We've been waiting for you," said a familiar, bold voice. Eyes widening in surprise, Giorgio and Wild Fang turned their heads to their right, looking at their newly incoming threat.

Of all people, Agent Steven had to be standing there, holding one of Wild Dog's rather beaten up men in a chokehold with one arm. Raymond and Herman was loyally standing by a little behind him. Richard and a great number of the local police officers stood a little further behind, but their presence was equally imposing.

"Just because you had a good head start and kept moving, don't think that we couldn't catch up," Steven said, dropping his now unconscious interrogation victim, who crashed hard against the dirt road at his feet. Giorgio and Wild Fang watched him and his team with tension, fear gripping them as they were unable to say a word, as if the grim reaper had suddenly appeared and come for them. Steven eyed the buildings around them with a disgusted look.

"Can't believe that chasing you would uncover such a horrible truth about the Walled City... This place should be leveled down once we're done with you. But first...," he said with sharp distaste.

"We'll have to arrest you for your betrayal. Get ready, you traitor!"


	7. Socratic Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Go and watch Wild Fang kick an entire forklift at Alan and Wesley in TC3. I had to rewatch it 3 times just to make sure that my eyes weren't fooling me -cracks up laughing- x'DDDD (Wild Fang's awesome!)
> 
> \- End of the month. Didn't manage to get to the 2/3 point of the fic, but eyy, we reached the 1/2 point! I'll see if I can wrap up the rest of the fic during the weekend! :D
> 
> \- Small slip! Thanks to noodlebirdie from fanfiction.net for pointing it out in the reviews!  
> I originally made Herman refer to Raymond as 大哥 (dàgē). But after reading noodle's review, I asked around and confirmed that yep, if you only have a single older brother, you just call him 哥哥 (gēge) or just 哥 (gē). Forgive my rusty Chinese XD
> 
> Additional note that 大哥 (dàgē) can also be used to refer to male strangers older than you, as well as men you respect who are not related to you by blood :D  
> (Same way as using 兄さん (nii-san) in Japanese.)

**【Chapter 7: Socratic Paradox】**

_"I know that I know nothing."_

* * *

_Kowloon Walled City 08:33_

"Like hell we'll let you catch us!" Wild Fang yelled, every last bit of him feeling repulsed at the notion of being put behind bars and getting tossed around again.

With a roundhouse kick, he sent a giant crate that was lying next to him flying towards Steven and the rest of the officers, who quickly scrambled to the side to evade it. The crate crashed hard against the dirt road, making a loud, explosion-like sound as it whipped up dust all around.

"This way!" Wild Fang shouted at Giorgio, dashing into an alley to their left. Giorgio followed immediately, knowing that with their lack of equipments, they were no match for their pursuers.

"Don't let them escape!" Steven commanded. At that, his team of police officers split up into groups, Steven's group chasing Giorgio directly from behind while the others fanned out to the neighboring alleys to surround them and reduce their chances of escape.

Gunshots aimed at their feet to immobilize them rang through the underground city's stale air. The civilians and gangsters in the area, not wanting to risk their lives in the sudden shootout, quickly scrambled to safety.

Giorgio and Wild Fang ran, trying to lose the police by going into narrower alleys. But curse their situation, the obstacles in their path made running in the area a lot more difficult than they thought. Wild Fang had to sacrifice a few precious seconds just to kick crates, drums, garbage cans and other unforeseen road blocks out of the way. Giorgio looked to his left as he ran, catching glimpses of the faster policemen in the neighboring alley slowly overtaking them. Looking to his right, he saw the same. Behind them, Steven's team was slowly closing the distance.

Before Wild Fang could waste his time kicking another heavy drum to clear the road, Giorgio smacked him on the back, calling for his attention.

"Up!" He shouted, jumping and latching onto the railing of a set of broken, metallic emergency stairs that hung next to him. Wild Fang followed.

"Come back here!" The police officers shouted a warning, catching up. But before they could attempt to climb after them, Wild Fang stopped at the balcony closest to him. He raised his right leg high up into the air, smirking.

With a strong swing, he brought his heel down against the rusty stairs, the great force yanking the lower stairs free of its loose hinges and sending it crashing down to the dirt road under. The officers leapt back in surprise, then looking up at their now unreachable targets.

"Too bad, fellas! So long!" Wild Fang laughed. Giorgio watched him in disbelief, wondering if there was nothing his kicks couldn't break. Richard was lucky it didn't kill him in the morning.

No time to worry about that, they quickly ran up the stairs to the roof and continued on their way, having gained an advantage. Richard watched them from his position with the police downstairs, never losing his calm. Not wanting to let them escape, he quickly scanned the area to find a way to get to them. His eyes then rested on some ledges along a wall to his right.

"This way!" He ordered, immediately running towards the wall and climbing up the ledges. Their hope returned, Steven and the others followed suit, using the ledges of the neighboring buildings as well.

"FUCK!" Wild Fang exclaimed when he glanced back and saw Richard already on the roof. The roofs were certainly wider and had less obstacles which would block their path, but he and Giorgio were quickly running out of breath.

"You know this place! Don't you have any bright ideas?!" Giorgio pressed on. Wild Fang raked through the vast storage in his mind.

"Down!" He shouted urgently.

Giorgio followed his lead down the ledge of one building. Downstairs, they found themselves in an open area that seemed to be a small but crowded city square of sorts. The people walking around doing their business there were surprised by the two of themーtwo men suddenly dropping themselves down from a balcony. Wild Fang looked to a drug dealer's store on one side of the square. There were stacks of crates covered by huge white sheets in front of it.

"Over there!" Wild Fang notified Giorgio. They ran behind one of the mountain of crates, throwing the sheets over themselves to blend in with the goods.

Soon enough, Richard and the police arrived at the scene, having seen them go down the roof around these parts. To their dismay, their targets were not seen anywhere in sight. Upon their arrival, the pedestrians walking around the streets had yelped in panic, quickly scrambling away and emptying the area the moment they saw their police uniforms.

"...," Richard and Steven stood next to each other, scanning the surroundings. The square could be seen branching out into three roads.

"Split up. They couldn't have gone far. Guard the underground city's exits and contact us if you see them!" Steven ordered.

Giorgio and Wild Fang waited in their hiding spot quietly for the sounds of the policemen's footsteps to eventually disappear into the distance. And then it was all quiet. Once they were sure that they were all clear, they stepped out from under the sheets.

"Phew, that was close!" Wild Fang exclaimed, stretching, feeling a little relieved. Giorgio looked to the direction where the police had gone, once again getting some mixed feelings about being hunted down and shot at by the people who were supposed to be his allies. Oh, how he hoped that this would be over soon.

"Mr. Bruno," Giorgio suddenly heard from behind him.

_Merda._

He and Wild Fang morbidly turned to look, only to see Agent Raymond Long standing there with his team of five policemen.

"It's good that we didn't rule out the possibility that you might have stayed behind," he said.

"...," Giorgio and Wild Fang stiffened. Raymond talked into his earpiece.

"Calling all units back to the square. I've found our target," he reported.

Giorgio and Wild Fang thought that they had nowhere to run now. But then, sudden gunshots were heard in the distance, and they saw Raymond's calm expression slowly turn into a distressed frown.

"What?! Wild Dog's men?!" He exclaimed. "Hang in there, Steven. I'll get this over with quickly and provide backup!"

Giorgio caught Wild Fang smirking at the news, the man seemingly having won his hope back. Raymond glared at them.

"Guess it's just us now. I won't let you get away," he said, putting in his gun back into its holster and falling into a kung fu battle stance.

It was the Long Ying, the Southern Dragon kung fu style developed based on the movements of the mythical Chinese dragon. The Long family had been one of the best practitioners of it for generations. Raymond himself, the eldest son slowly rising in the ranks and close to taking over the role as head of his family, was known to have even better martial arts skills than his skills with a gun. Knowing that he was not to be trifled with, Giorgio and Wild Fang stayed alert as they took out their pistols.

"Hah! Try to win against us if you can! The news of our arrival had reached Wild Dog and I'm sure that he'll be sending us more men as support. Besides, I've got one of the VSSE's best at my side!" Wild Fang taunted confidently, seeing that the tables were slowly being turned. Giorgio grimaced deeply at his last sentence, hating to admit it.

Without further ado, their battle started. The policemen shot at Wild Fang, forcing him to separate himself from Giorgio and take cover behind some nearby crates. Raymond on the other hand, beelined straight for Giorgio to his surprise.

"Shit!" Giorgio cursed.

Raymond knew that Giorgio wouldn't shoot him anywhere fatal, if at all, and he was using that fact to his advantage. Before Giorgio could even react or run, Raymond had gotten right in front of him, grabbing his gun by its muzzle and twisting it out of the way. The next moment, Giorgio felt a sharp strike to his jaw, pushing him back and disarming him.

Being pushed a few steps back, he held up his arm just in time to block a punch to his face. But Raymond wasn't about to give him a break, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling his arm, before twisting it painfully behind his back and holding him down. Giorgio winced.

"Give it up, Agent Bruno! If you let Wild Fang go past this point, no one knows how we can catch him again. Is this really what you want?" Raymond asked.

"...," Giorgio gritted his teeth, struggling against Raymond's iron grip. He glanced at Wild Fang, who was quickly being cornered as the five policemen surrounded and attacked him from all sides. Just how were they going to get out of this?

It was then that a smoke grenade was suddenly thrown into the middle of the square.

"...?!" Raymond looked around, surprised. Before he knew it, he was struck from the back, knocking him aside and forcing him to free Giorgio. Regaining his balance, he quickly readied himself for defense, turning to look at his assailant. But while he had expected it to be one of Wild Dog's newly arrived reinforcements, who he saw surprised him.

Herman was standing there, helping Giorgio up to his feet.

"Herman! Whatー?!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

" _Gē_  (Elder brother), forgive me. But I'm taking Mr. Bruno's side," Herman said, pointing his gun at his brother with a troubled frown. Giorgio could see his hand shaking, cold sweat on his brows. They saw Wild Fang escaping into a path between one of the buildings beside them, using the surrounding smoke as cover.

"We have to go!" Herman said to Giorgio.

"Herman! This is treason! Stop this at once!" Raymond yelled, anger mixed with worry as he ran at them.

Herman shot at the dirt road in front of him, surprising and stopping him. When he looked up at Herman and Giorgio again, they were already running off following Wild Fang. Raymond thought of giving chase, but the sound of a lot of approaching footsteps stopped him, and a new problem came up just as the smoke cleared.

"Well, well, well... Look what we have here! Not very nice of you to just waltz in and mess up with our territory," said an intimidating man, tattoos and various metallic accessories giving him a gangster-like appearance. A group of armed men was standing behind him, all with Wild Dog's emblem stitched onto their clothes. Their leader smirked and shouted out his order.

"Men! Take them down. Every, last, one!"

At the command, his underlings began to shoot at Raymond and his police team mercilessly.

Glancing once at the direction Herman and Giorgio had gone, Raymond saw that they weren't in sight anymore. Gritting his teeth and frowning in frustration, he held back his conflicting thoughts and emotions, focusing on first taking down the men before him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Giorgio, Wild Fang and Herman had successfully put some distance between themselves and their pursuers. Finally! They leaned against the wall of an alley, panting heavily and trying to catch their breaths as if they had just run a full circle around the globe.

"Why the fuck are  _you_  here?!" Wild Fang asked Herman, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere to run with them. He remembered him as one of the agents in charge of him with Steven, and he didn't like it one bit. Herman glared back at him in disdain, not liking him either.

"He's with us," Giorgio explained, before turning to Herman with a serious look. "But you shouldn't be. The VSSE will fire you if you stick with us. I don't know what reckless thoughts you have in mind, but go back to them before it's too late!"

"Mr. Bruno, no!" Herman protested, turning to look Giorgio in the eyes. "At the prison, you told me that you're doing what you have to, and that I should do what I should. So this! This is exactly what I should be doing!"

Giorgio glared at him incredulously, wondering how naïve the young man could be. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. This isn't a game," he warned. "How are you even trusting me? Any sane person would be thinking that my current actions are irrational and selfish."

"That's the thing, Mr. Bruno. I don't," Herman replied, this time confidently, surprising Giorgio.

"One of the rules we followed as practitioners of the Dragon kung fu is to treat our friends with loyalty," Herman continued. "After understanding your situation, I realized how you could have lied to me and used me when we met at Stanley Prison. But you didn't. I've considered you an honorable friend since then, Mr. Bruno, besides...," he looked away.

"If... If it was my big brother who had been kidnapped, I'd have done the same, no matter what the higher ups say. I used to always think that with our job, things can be easily separated into black and white, the criminal and the law... But after experiencing your case, now I know that I know nothing."

"...," Giorgio looked at him. He was about to protest Herman's involvement again, but the young agent spoke first.

"I'm ready to take full responsibility of my actions," he said boldly.

"..."

Heh, maybe the new kid wasn't as naïve as he seemed, after all. Giorgio nodded at him. "Fine, but be careful."

"Umm, guys! Let's talk later, shall we?" Wild Fang interrupted. "Old man Wild Dog's place is just up ahead. Let's get there before the police finds us, alright? Good. Now follow me."

He walked off into an abandoned building. Giorgio quickly followed him, a little glad that his goal was just a step ahead.


	8. Maya

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giorgio大哥~ (dàgē = elder brother) XD

**【Chapter 8: Maya】**

_Our illusions are not real, yet it's real that illusion itself exists._

* * *

_Kowloon Walled City 10:17_

Contrary to their expectations, Herman turned out to be a great help. With him telling them the tactics and positions that the police teams had taken, it was possible for Wild Fang and Giorgio to move towards the entrance of Wild Dog's base safely, without running into one of Steven's teams.

As they moved alongside one of the police teams caught in a shootout, Giorgio noticed how Wild Dog's men seemed to be pressing them back. Some of the braver and more irritable local gangsters, not happy with the law enforcers in their territory, had also joined in to make their lives even more difficult. The VSSE agent in Giorgio felt the urge to go and offer them some help, but knew that he couldn't. So he quietly moved along, hoping that they'd get themselves out of the trouble somehow. The fact that Richard was there fighting with them gave him some reassurance.

After some skillful maneuvering and sneaking around to avoid detection, Giorgio's group finally made it to their meeting point. Two of Wild Dog's men were there waiting for them, looking tense and worried that the police might have caught Wild Fang again. So when they saw him approaching unharmed, they were glad.

They immediately allowed Wild Fang to go through the alley behind themーa passage to Wild Dog's secret base. Giorgio and Herman were just about to follow, but the two men stopped them.

"No weapons," they told them coldly.

Giorgio and Herman looked at each other, made uneasy by the request. Having no other choice, they were forced to hand over their guns, ammunition and everything else they were carrying. The men didn't let them pass until they had done a thorough check on them and made sure that they had no other dangerous items with them.

* * *

_Wild Dog's secret underground base, Kowloon Walled City 10:29_

What laid ahead once they had exited the alley surprised Giorgio and Herman.

Many old buildings sprawled before them. Wild Dog's emblem could be seen everywhere. The lot of armed men keeping guard around the area eyed them suspiciously. They had entered the wolf's den. Giorgio could tell that this was certainly a major base and Wild Dog had been operating here for a long time, completely undetected.

"This way," Wild Fang motioned with a smug grin, heading to a warehouse-like structure. He was home and he knew that he had already won. Giorgio and Herman followed him cautiously. If a giant hidden base was already surprising, the inside of the warehouse was ten folds even more shocking.

"...?!"

Numbered cages were stacked on top of each other from the floor to the ceiling along both their left and right walls. In them, there were men in rags, all bony and underfed, clutching at the bars or banging at them as they wailed and screamed in misery. Their eyes were unfocused, as if they were having some horrible nightmare despite being awake, and none of them looked like they were in their sane mind. Most of them either screamed for help in fear or shouted threats in anger, but all of them wanting to escape and run away. Some could be seen balling up helplessly as they trembled in the far corner of their cages.

Giorgio also noted several shelves of books and chemicals at one side of the wall. Tables with various apparatus and machines on them, along with labeled models of the human brain could also be seen nearby.

Was Wild Dog conducting some sort of human experiment?

Giorgio walked on worriedly, quickening his pace. Visions of the worst case scenario about what might have happened to Evan began building itself up in his mind. He had a bad feeling as he tried to force the anticipation out of his mind in vain.

Luckily, he wouldn't be kept waiting. Soon enough, they had arrived at the furthest end of the warehouse, finding Wild Dog standing there.

"Ah, Mr. Bruno! Good afternoon to you. I've been waiting," he said, greeting him and never losing his gentlemanliness. "Glad that you've managed to make it through all the trouble that happened on the way. Keeping you with us had been a wise choice."

Evan was also there, standing in Wild Dog's arms and crying wretchedly with his face in his hands. He trembled uncontrollably between sobs, leaning against the criminal for support. Wild Dog only smiled at him and pulled him closer, caressing his hair gently and comforting him. It made something deep inside Giorgio burn.

"I've got Wild Fang for you. Let him go!" He demanded.

"Why, of course, Mr. Bruno. I'm very grateful to you for having done your part in bringing my apprentice safely back to me. And not to worry, I always keep my deals," Wild Dog told him as Wild Fang pranced cheerfully back to his side, never happier to be able to return where he belonged. He was overjoyed when Wild Dog took out a new pair of purple glasses and passed it to him to replace his broken ones, quickly putting it back on with satisfaction.

"Here. You can have him back," Wild Dog said afterwards, pushing Evan at Giorgio.

"Evan!" Giorgio exclaimed, rushing ahead to catch him. Once he did, he held him tightly in his arms. Giorgio felt much more relief washing over him than he had expected to, just by having Evan safely next to him again.

But Evan's body was hot, as if he was having a fever. Giorgio pulled back a little to look at him. Evan only continued to cry miserably, and he had never seen his always cheerful partner more broken. Herman wanted to help, but not knowing what he could do, decided to stay back, looking at Wild Dog and Wild Fang instead in case they tried to do anything funny.

"Evan... Evan! Look at me," Giorgio said pleadingly, trying to reassure him, "It's Giorgio. I'm here, alright? Everything's okay. You're safe now."

Evan's sobs died down a little, much to Giorgio's relief, but he'd never have seen Evan's reply coming.

"No... Nowhere is safe...," Evan sobbed, his voice quivering with fear.

"Evan...?" Giorgio looked at him worriedly.

"Lies...! Everything that they've told usーThey're all LIES!" Evan suddenly snapped. With a quick swing, he pulled out his pocket knife, driving it straight into Giorgio's stomach.

"...!" Giorgio gasped in surprise at the sudden pain. Herman looked at them in shock. Evan yanked out the knife, moving away immediately. Giorgio dropped to the ground, clutching his bleeding stomach in pain.

"I'm not going back to the VSSE, even if you force me to! STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Evan yelled in panic, tears continuing to flow from his frightened eyes, as if he was greatly afraid of something. Giorgio noticed how unfocused his eyes were, deranged, not unlike all the caged men he had seen earlier.

"EVAN!" Giorgio shouted at him, hoping that he would snap out of it. Wild Dog was laughing in the background. Evan lunged forward again, trying to stab at Giorgio once more in his frenzied state.

Herman stepped in, grabbing him by his wrist. Being a Long Ying martial artist himself, he confidently directed Evan's attack to the side, twisting his arm and forcing him down to the ground.

"Agent Bernard! Wake up! No one's going to hurt you!" He shouted. "Whatever illusion you're seeing, it's not real!"

Then, a sudden loud mechanical sound from the warehouse's roof caught Giorgio and Herman's attention. Looking above, they saw the roof opening above them, all the way to the level above ground, showing the skies and letting in blinding sunlight. A large helicopter was hovering above them, dropping in an escape rope for Wild Dog, who quickly grabbed it with Wild Fang.

"Too bad I'd have to leave this base since the police had discovered it, but it was well worth it," Wild Dog smirked.

"As you can see, the kidnapping and you biting the bait had diverted police attention long enough for me to complete my next plans. Now, Mr. Bruno, I hope that you enjoy your time with your friend."

"Thanks for the ride too, Mr. Bruno! It's been a pleasure!" Wild Fang added mockingly.

Their evil laughs echoed through the warehouse as their rope was pulled up to the helicopter, ensuring their escape. Giorgio cursed as he watched them disappear. He had set up several strategies about what he would do to retaliate after rescuing Evan, even if Evan was unable to fight with him. But he hadn't expected any situation where Evan would be the one attacking him with everything he had got.

Meanwhile, Evan, realizing that Herman was distracted, used the chance to knock him off of him. He rolled to the side next and stood up, quickly pulling out his loaded handgun. Still gripped by incomprehensible levels of fear and panic, Evan shot frantically at the still surprised and unprepared Herman.

"...!" Herman gasped, eyes widening in shock and horror as he felt two of Evan's bullets hit him in the chest.

"HERMAN!" Giorgio shouted, watching the young agent's body crumple and crash hard against the warehouse's concrete floor. The situation and everything around him had gone to hell. Evan turned, pointing his gun at Giorgio, breathing heavily as he trembled.

"Evan...!" Giorgio pleaded, but Evan's eyes were unseeing. Giorgio lying there bleeding his stomach out on the ground didn't even seem to register to him.

Luckily, the heavens decided to show him some mercy. Richard suddenly appeared from the side and grabbed Evan by the wrist. The two of them twisted and struggled, until Richard was holding Evan in a chokehold. Evan dropped his gun as Richard clenched down on his wrist painfully, gasping desperately.

"Sorry for this," Richard said, tightening his sleeper choke against Evan's throat.

Evan weakened as his consciousness slowly began to slip away. Seconds later, he closed his eyes, his body falling limp. Richard quickly loosened his choke hold and grabbed him, preventing him from crashing to the ground. Evan safely subdued in his arms, he looked up at the mess around him.

Giorgio was lying there in front of him, trying hard to put some pressure on his stomach and stay awake despite his blood loss. Agent Herman's body laid unmoving on the ground, blood pooling beneath him. Evan was unconscious in his arms, looking like the most miserable creature. And most of all, of course, Wild Dog and Wild Fang was nowhere to be found.

"Don't move!" Richard's police team shouted, having caught up to him. They pointed their guns cautiously at Giorgio.

Richard sighed, wondering how he was going to explain this failed operation and entire mess to his boss. With the stress of the situation getting to him and finally reaching his limit, Giorgio fainted.


	9. Schrödinger's Cat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- And here's your 2/3 point! Entering the last part of this fic after this. Hoping to finish this entire fic latest by Tuesday or so ^3^
> 
> \- And noodlebirdie, thanks! Fixed up that bit in Chapter 7 and left a note at the Author's Note section ;D

**【Chapter 9: Schrödinger's Cat】**

_A cat is put in an opaque box with a radioactive substance, in which the substance has equal probability of decaying and killing the cat, or it doesn't decay and the cat survives. Without opening the box, one cannot tell whether the cat is dead or alive, presenting a situation in which the cat is both dead and alive simultaneously._

* * *

_Giorgio opened his eyes to warmth. Sunlight flooded all around him from huge open windows. A cool, comforting wind blew softly past the translucent, veil-like curtains and against his skin. He stirred and felt fresh, as if he had just woken up from a long, restful nap._

_Focussing his gaze and overcoming his grogginess, he eventually made out that he was back at the couch of his apartment room, except that everything was all white. He found that his head was resting lightly on Evan's lap, Evan gently stroking his hair. The sunlight around them reflected against Evan's pale hair, giving him a heavenly look. Seeing that he had woken up, Evan looked pleased, greeting him with his wide, innocent grin._

_"Morning, tonton (uncle)! You fell asleep again! Getting old?" He laughed._

_"...Evan?" Giorgio said, eyes wide._

_Evan was right thereーhealthy, laughing, joking... Like he always did. Normally, Giorgio would have retorted in annoyance whenever Evan made a jab at his age again, but this time, he didn't. Instead, he found himself reaching out slowly to touch Evan's cheek, his eyes watering._

_"Tonton...?" Evan asked, tilting his head with a little worry in his voice, "What's wrong?"_

_"Evan...!" Giorgio repeated, his voice quivering as he tried to hold back stinging tears._

_He knew that this was a dream. Knew that none of this was real. Knew that when he woke up, all of this delicate happiness would just shatter away and vanish, leaving him with nothing but the harsh reality of his failures. As if Evan knew what was going on in his mind, he gave him an understanding look, smiling sadly at him._

_"Tonton... You did your best," Evan said in a gentle, reassuring voice. Holding onto Giorgio's hand that was on his cheek, he leaned in, resting his forehead softly against Giorgio's. "Thank you for having fought so bravely for me... RestーGo back to sleep now..."_

_At that, Giorgio felt a strong drowsiness slowly overtake him. He closed his eyes, hoping that he could stay in this peaceful moment with Evan just a little longer..._

* * *

_General Hospital, Kowloon City 21:27_

Giorgio woke up slowly on the cold hospital bed, a tear trailing down the corner of his eye. Under his hospital gown, he could feel the tautness of bandages around his wounded stomach. An IV stand to his left provided him with a much needed blood transfusion. His head hurt and his body was heavy as lead. Overall, he felt horrible inside outーIt was painful just to be alive.

"You're awake," he heard. Forcing himself to turn his stiff neck to his right, Giorgio could see Richard standing there, leaning against the wall near the door with his arms folded, not looking very pleased.

"You should be glad that Agent Bernard only stabbed you with a small pocket knife. The doctors managed to patch you up quite quickly. Said that it wasn't anything dangerous, but you shouldn't be moving too much," he explained, before continuing coldly.

"For having failed to comply with orders and misusing your skills, you had put the lives of civilians, fellow agents and countless policemen in danger. Your arrogance had also caused the enemy to escape. For that, the VSSE had decided to revoke your status as one of its agents. Mr. Bruno, your punishment will be decided in court after your discharge from the hospital," Richard said sternly, as if he was a law enforcer addressing a criminal. Giorgio didn't protest.

"Oh... I see...," he only said weakly without any resistance, trailing a hand over where he had been stabbed.

Scenes from earlier in the day came back to him. Despite him being reputedly able to see forward and come up with good strategies in any situation, Giorgio had played straight into the enemy's trap. He had let Wild Dog and Wild Fang escape. Everything was in such a mess and so out of control that his mind had gone past its limit and stopped caring altogether. Suddenly, even losing his job felt like it didn't matter. Then his partner's face came to mind.

"Evan...!" Giorgio exclaimed, looking up at Richard in horror.

"Next room. Doctors couldn't get him to calm down. Had to keep him under sedatives for the mean time," Richard told him briefly.

"I need to see him."

"You shouldn't be walking around yet."

"Mr. Miller!"

"...," Richard looked at him wordlessly. He knew how strong the bonds between the paired agents in their organization were. Giorgio was probably going through hell in his mind right now, considering everything he had gone through in just one day. Finally, Richard sighed.

"Fine. Come with me."

* * *

They went to the room beside Giorgio's, Richard helping Giorgio with his IV stand. Once they entered, Giorgio saw Evan there, unconscious as he was strapped securely to his bed with medical restraints.

"Evan...!" Giorgio exclaimed, immediately rushing to his side. Richard moved after him quickly, narrowly preventing Giorgio from yanking the IV needle right out of his arm.

"Evan!" Giorgio called out again in anguish, leaning against the side of Evan's bed to look at his face.

Despite the strong sedative that the doctors had administered to him, Evan didn't look calm the least bit. His breathing was ragged, a deep frown on his brows as sweat poured down his hot forehead. He tossed uncomfortably against his straps in his sleep, seemingly plagued by a horrible nightmare.

" _Non..._  (No...) Giorgio...! Don't go...," Evan called out desperately.

"Evan! I'm here!" Giorgio exclaimed reassuringly, never having felt more worried in his life. He held Evan's hand tightly, frustrated that his voice would probably not reach Evan nor lift his suffering.

"MK-X...," Richard said.

"...?" Giorgio looked up at Richard questioningly, wondering what he meant. Richard continued.

"When Wild Dog escaped, he had set all the computers at his secret base to delete all the data they contained. Luckily, we arrived early enough for Agent Wang to hack into the mainframe with some of our handlers and stop the process. Among what little files we managed to save, information regarding Wild Dog's current project had been found," he explained.

"It's called 'MK-X', the perfected form of the CIA's halted mind control program, Project MKUltra," Richard revealed.

"...What?!" Giorgio exclaimed in disbelief.

Project MKUltra, the codename for a series of human experimentation program to develop drugs for mind control and interrogation, had struck fear into many just by thinking about it. Everyone thought that once it was halted in 1973, it was gone for good. To think that Wild Dog actually managed to get his hands on its last remnants and even perfect it! Richard continued to elaborate their intelligence team's findings.

"The studies Wild Dog conducted involved mainly the LSD, BZ and other similar chemicals. Due to the data having been deleted, we don't know the details, but it seemed that he had eventually found the right mix of drugs which would do the job. The patient it was administered to would suffer from extreme hallucinations and disorientation, making them susceptible to suggestions and the overwriting of memories. Combined with some sort of hypnotism, he'd then be able to plant in whatever he wants into their minds."

Richard's explanation left Giorgio aghast and horrified to the core. He turned back to look at Evan, wondering just what Wild Dog must have drilled into his mind. He frantically turned to look at Richard again.

"That... Isn't there anything we can do?!" Giorgio urged.

"...I'm afraid not. The doctors tried several known treatments while you were out. No luck. Right now, Agent Wang and the others were working on decoding more of the files that we've managed to save. Let's hope that they'd come up with something."

Richard's answer not helping his anxiety, Giorgio turned back to look at Evan desperately, holding his hand tighter. His mind replayed all the recent events in his life, frantically searching for answers on where he had gone wrong to deserve all this mess. And then his train of thoughts struck something, jolting him back into the present.

"Herman...! What happened to him?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Giorgio and Richard found themselves in a waiting room, located next to an operation room in the hospital. Worry etched itself deeply onto their faces.

A nurse had just explained the situation to them a little earlier, saying that Herman had been hit pretty bad. The good news was that the shot, having been badly aimed as Evan was in a state of panic, had narrowly missed Herman's heart. Even so, the two bullets had punctured the young agent's right lung, both getting caught in it.

Right after they had found him, Raymond and his team of policemen had rushed him to the hospital, almost not making it in time. Raymond had screamed all the way, repeatedly calling his little brother's name in desperation. Once they arrived, the doctors had begun a long and arduous lung surgery on Herman, trying their best to remove the bullets from their tricky positions in his chest and patch him up.

The surgeons had not gone out of the operation room since then, and no one knew whether Herman was dead or alive behind those closed doors. They could only wait as the long hours of the surgery passed by. Giorgio buried his face in his hands with guilt, feeling as though this was also all his fault.

Seriously, what was he thinking?! He thought that as a professional who was good at his job, it would be in his power to protect just one young agent. But he was proven wrong yet again, having gambled many more chips than he had expected and then lost everything in the end. He should have told Herman to go away when he had the chance. Shame on him. Now, he could only pray that the young man would come out of this alive.

Soon, Giorgio and Richard could hear loud footsteps storming down the hallway outside towards the waiting room. Agent Raymond stopped there just outside the door, quickly catching a passing nurse and asking about his brother. He sounded greatly disappointed when the nurse said that the surgeons weren't done yet, and that they couldn't provide him with any news regarding Herman. The surgery had taken much too long, causing a great suspicion that there might have been some complications.

Exhausted physically and mentally, Raymond walked into the waiting room, thinking of waiting it out quietly, only to have his anger spike up once again the moment his line of sight fell on Giorgio.

"You...!" He seethed, stomping over to them. Ignoring the fact that Giorgio was a wounded patient, he grabbed him by the collar, slamming his back hard against the wall next to him.

"Agent Long!" Richard exclaimed, standing up.

"This is all your fault!" Raymond yelled angrily into Giorgio's face with the ferocity of a dragon. "Because of you, Herman is... Herman isー...," he began to break down and sob, angry tears staining his usually gallant and composed face.

He felt as though he wanted to strangle Giorgio right there and then for what he did. Giorgio was unable to retaliate, pitying the man in front of him, half of him feeling as though he deserved a beating. Richard quickly reached out and separated the two of them to avoid further trouble, standing in front of Giorgio to protect him.

"Agent Long, please calm down," Richard advised. "We've not heard from the surgeons, but if they're still working on the surgery, they must be optimistic about your brother's survival. Let's have some faith."

"...," Raymond glared at Richard, but finding some truth and hope in his words and wanting to believe it, he backed off, dropping himself onto a chair a little away from them.

"Steven... He's working on decoding the last few documents. Should be done any second now," Raymond reported to Richard without looking at him. He rubbed his tears away with the back of his hand, not wanting to look like a mess in front of the others any further.

Richard nodded at him. The three of them then sat there in silence, waiting for the nurse to come back with some good news. Each passing minute felt much too long. When the awaited nurse eventually came, everyone steeled their hearts, preparing themselves for the worst. The nurse was sweating greatly from having assisted with the surgery.

"Mr. Long... We had successfully removed the bullets and covered up the holes in his lungs. His recovery would take time, but he'll make it," she reported quickly with relief.

The black box had been opened and the cat was alive.

Giorgio and Raymond lit up. They were about to hug each other and cheer happily together, but held back the moment their gaze met. Remembering the bad blood between them, they looked away nervously. Richard seemed glad. The nurse smiled happily for them, leaving to continue helping the doctors and prepare for Herman's aftercare.

A little after she left, Steven entered the room, papers and thick documents in hand. He had taken off his suit coat, and his always neat hair was rather disheveled and matted with sweat, as if he head been running around everywhere. Tension came back to all those in the waiting room once again.

"Wild DogーWe've uncovered what he's about to do and it isn't pretty. We need to stop him," he said, wiping some sweat off his forehead after a lot of hard work. "The good news is, the MK-X chemical that he had developed seemed to have an antidote. If we can get our hands on that, we might also have some hope of saving Agent Bernard."

The last part won Giorgio's full attention. "Agent Wang, tell us about it!" He said quickly, only to earn Steven's death glare.

"After all the damage that you've done, Mr. Bruno, and you still dared to ask! I've respected and trusted you when you've brought Wild Fang to us, but look at what you did! HQ had made a decision about your discharge. You're off this mission!" He refused angrily.

"Agent Wang!" Giorgio insisted. "I swore that I'd catch Wild Dog. I'm not going to just sit here until I'm sure that he had paid for what he had done. Evan's my partner. I don't  _care_  if you want to fire me or put me on some death penalty after this, but let me in on the mission!"

Steven continued glaring at him with distrust. Richard spoke up, breaking the silent and choking tension.

"Mr. Bruno has always been a serious personーhe always meant what he says. If we're in a hurry and our enemy's as strong as Wild Dog, I don't see why we wouldn't use an extra hand if one's readily available. Mr. Bruno would do great in increasing our team's total fighting capabilities and increase our chances of survival," he reasoned logically.

"Agent Miller...!" Steven wanted to protest, but Richard stood there firmly, looking at him with determination.

"If the higher ups found any problems with increasing our chances of victory, I'll take the full responsibility and explain it to them later."

"..." Finding it hard to refute Richard's solid suggestion, Steven had no choice but to back down. He could only hope that they wouldn't regret this later.

"...Fine," he finally said with reluctance. "In that case, get yourselves readyーWe must leave quickly. I'll brief you on the way. Raymond, I need your help to get our police team together. Let's go."

Raymond nodded, and the two of them left the room immediately to do their job. Richard watched them leave and Giorgio looked at him, grateful to him for being on his side.

"Agent Miller... Thanks for the help," he said, nodding lightly at him. Richard sighed, closing his eyes.

"You've asked me the value of one life earlier today, Mr. Bruno," he began, "To tell the truth, I'm quite impressed that you'd go this far, not giving up even after everything spiraled out of control. The higher ups might think that you're crazy, but I found that perseverance quite admirable."

Richard opened his eyes again and looked up, memories of his difficult mission of rescuing Rachel from Sherudo's castle back in the past replaying at the back of his mind.

He too, had once gone through this process of putting in everything he had just for one person, repeatedly questioning himself whether he was making the right choices with every step he tookーRepeatedly questioning himself whether or not it was all actually worth it. And when he saw Rachel's smiling face once she was safe and sound in his arms, he knew that yes, one life was well worth all the trouble and sacrifice. Smiling a little at the fond reminiscence, he turned to look at Giorgio with a reassuring look.

"Let's go and save your partner."


	10. Icarus Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- *stares at noodlebirdie and June's reviews from fanfiction.net* Omg so 大哥 and 哥哥 can also be used interchangeably for single siblings, after all XDD  
> Herman stuck to just 哥 (gē) after I let him use it though, so I guess I'll just stick with that :3
> 
> \- Got a persistent headache the whole day on Sunday because I didn't sleep well on Saturday, so this chapter got delayed x.x I'm back up and running now though, so have this! :DD

**【Chapter 10: Icarus Paradox】**

_The phenomenon where after a period of apparent success, failure is brought about by the very elements that led to the initial success. Strength and past victories bring about over-confidence, which then leads to complacency and eventually, downfall._

* * *

_Rooftop, International Commerce Centre, West Kowloon, Hong Kong 23:12_

The cool night breeze blew softly through the high rise cityscape of West Kowloon, its streets and buildings made colourful by bright neon lights. Despite it being the late hours, people still went about their business, enjoying the night life. The children of tourists laughed cheerfully, nibbling on tasty street food and taking happy pictures with their parents. None of them had a sign of worry on their faces.

_The calm before the storm._

Atop the roof of the International Commerce Centre, the highest skyscraper in Hong Kong and the fourth tallest building in the world, Wild Dog and Wild Fang stood overlooking the city, their greatcoats billowing lightly in the wind, looking down at the oblivious civilians below.

Wild Fang stood with a big silver suitcase in hand, talking to their underlings on his phone. He smirked dangerously as he thought of what great disaster they were about to unleash upon the world. Wild Dog on the other hand, was standing at the edge of the roof. He held out a vial containing a purple liquid to the full moon, the moonlight shining through it giving it an otherworldly glint.

"MK-X... How I've waited so long for this day," he said, studying his finally completed masterpiece with prideーthe ultimate mind control drug.

The scientists of Project MKUltra had worked for 20 long years trying to develop the formula, willing to conduct even illegal experiments to realize their goal. Wild Dog felt honored to be able to pick up the halted project and have the crystallization of their hard work in his hands. Now, he shall use it as his first step towards world domination.

The police and the VSSE must have never expected that the poison gas incident which Giorgio and Evan had foiled in the previous days was actually just a test and preparation for thisーWild Dog's large scale operation to cover the entirety of Hong Kong with the gas form of MK-X. The entire country's population, brainwashed and willing to do his every command, would then be his hostage and army, supporting his eventual conquest of the world country by country.

Wild Fang, being his apprentice and right hand man, would be playing a major role in commanding his troops and making sure that everything ran smoothly. Thus, his unexpected capture had been an unwelcome problem and hindrance.

Luckily for him, the victory had brought about a period of complacency among the VSSE agents, and a chance to win Wild Fang back presented itself when his men told him that Giorgio had left his hotel room, leaving his sleeping partner unguarded.

Sure it had been hard to break into the hotel room, what with all the traps that the VSSE agents had set up for intruders. But wanting to carry out his plans at all cost, Wild Dog managed. And it had paid back all too sweetly when Giorgio bit his bait, distracting the entire police force with his actions and allowing Wild Dog to reinstall all the equipments which had been extracted by the VSSE during the poison gas incident earlier.

Now standing on top of the tallest building with no obstacle in his path, he was ready to send a signal that would activate all his hidden machines and commence the release of the MK-X gas once all his men were in position.

"Wild Dog, I got a confirmation," Wild Fang said, putting his phone back into his coat pocket once he was done with his call. "The men are ready. We can start anytime now."

He knelt down and lowered the big silver suitcase he was holding onto the ground, opening it. Inside, there were two gas masks. To their right, a vial containing a yellow liquid laid safely secured into an indented box.

"Here," Wild Fang said, passing one of the gas masks to Wild Dog, who promptly put it on. Wild Fang took the other one and put it on himself, before giving Wild Dog a thumbs up to say that he was ready. Wild Dog nodded. He took out his remote, ready to release of deadly chemical.

But at that moment, the sudden loud batting of rotor blades was heard as a helicopter rose from the side of the building, sending gusts of wind and dust and surprising both of them. Several other helicopters came and encircled them, shining their blinding searchlights upon the ICC's rooftop.

"Wild Dog, you have been surrounded. Surrender immediately!" Agent Steven said through a megaphone, leaning out of the side of the leading helicopter. Raymond, Giorgio and Richard were standing behind him, weapons ready. Giorgio spotted the vial of yellow liquid in the open suitcase on the floor next to Wild Fang.

"The antidote!" Giorgio exclaimed, recognizing it immediately from the reports of Wild Dog's decoded files. Wild Fang and Wild Dog looked up indignantly at them.

"Hah! To think that you have to show up at the last second!" Wild Dog yelled at the VSSE agents, "It's too late now, though! Hahaha!" He looked at his remote, about to click the button and hammer in the final nail to the coffin.

"Not happening," Richard said calmly, holding his pistol up in front of him and pulling the trigger. His aim true, his single bullet whizzed past Giorgio and Raymond, flying over Steven's megaphone to travel swiftly through the air, finally impacting against the middle of Wild Dog's remote.

"Argh!" Wild Dog yelled in surprise as his remote was knocked out of his hand, landing on the tiles of the rooftop away from him, sliding and stopping near the roof's edge. Luckily, he had made the remote strong enough to take a beating, so it was still perfectly functional. He looked to the helicopter, which had closed in towards the roof, dropping off the four VSSE agents in it to deal with him.

"Guess we'll have to give them a welcome party," Wild Fang said with a grin, straightening himself as he faced them, taking out his pistol.

"Hmph," Wild Dog scowled, readying his gun and mechanical arm, "I suppose it can't be helped."

And the next moment, they sprung into action. Wild Dog and Wild Fang fired at Giorgio and the agents, who quickly dove to take cover behind the machines and structures on the roof.

"Men!" Wild Dog called through his earpiece. Immediately, armed men with gas masks flooded out onto the roof from the floor below, helping him attack his enemies and making it difficult for them to get to him.

"Shit!" Steven cursed. The situation needing a quick decision, he took the initiative and gave orders to the others. "Mr. Miller, Mr. Bruno! Raymond and I will handle Wild Fang. We'll leave Wild Dog to you!"

Richard and Giorgio nodded, splitting up with Steven and Raymond to open the road and charge at Wild Dog. The enemy showered the two of them with bullets relentlessly, forcing them behind cover. Wild Dog however, was already on his way to grab his fallen remote.

"No!" Giorgio shouted, seeing how they wouldn't make it.

"Tch!" Richard clicked his tongue angrily. Jumping out of his cover, he shot at the remote again, this time effectively knocking it further and throwing it off the edge of the building.

"NO!" Wild Dog cursed, stopping abruptly at the edge and watching his remote drop down to the city below.

Too bad for Richard though, he was now out and exposed with nothing protecting him. Not wasting their chance, Wild Dog's men immediately shot at him. Richard brought up his arms in an attempt to cover himself, feeling the pain as the enemy's bullets ripped through his arm and thigh, bringing him crashing to the ground.

Opening his eyes and seeing a gunman in front of him pointing straight at his head, Richard thought that he was going to die. Fortunately, Giorgio caught up and jumped in front of him in time, shooting down the enemy gunman and taking out their other attackers.

"Mr. Miller!" Giorgio called out in horror, astonished that their ace had been taken down at the start of the fight. He knelt down to look at him. Richard was breathing heavily, hissing through gritted teeth as he tried to hold back the pain. He gripped at the multiple wounds in his left arm and shoulder.

"Don't... worry about me... WILD DOG...!" He shouted at Giorgio urgently.

"...!" Giorgio's attention was immediately brought back to the threat. He turned around, looking at Wild Dog. The criminal stood there, scowling at them in frustration.

"Don't think that this is over yet!" He said, swinging an arm at Giorgio angrily. He then turned around, swaying forward and allowing himself to drop from the edge of the building.

"...?!" Surprised at his action, Giorgio ran there, stopping at the edge of the rooftop to look down.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" His evil laughter echoing into the night, Wild Dog dove his way down the tall 188-storey building. Nearing the bottom, he held out his mechanical left arm, striking it into the glass windows on the side of the ICC. Curling his metal fingers into a claw, he dragged it against the glass, slowing his fall as he headed to the bottom floor to recover his remote.

 _"Cazzo!"_  Giorgio turned around, sweating and looking all over the roof as he frantically tried to look for a way to stop the crazy old man.

" _Bruno xiānsheng!_  (Mr. Bruno!)" He suddenly heard.

Quickly directing his attention there, he saw one of the police helicopter pilots bringing the vehicle closer to the roof for him. Wasting no time, Giorgio dashed towards it, jumping off the roof into the helicopter.

The pilot seemed surprised that Giorgio didn't wait for him to land, but having no time to comment on it, he immediately drove the helicopter away from the roof, lowering the altitude quickly to head to the bottom floor.

Downstairs, civilians had begun gathering in the open area in front of the ICC building, curious about the numerous police helicopters that had been circling above. They gasped when Wild Dog suddenly landed on the concrete floor in front of them, making a huge crack with the velocity of his fall and his metal arm.

"..." Everyone in the crowd held their breath, tense. No one spoke a word and Wild Dog stood up.

Raising his right hand, he fired two shots from his Mauser C96. He laughed as the crowd screamed in panic and ran away in fear. Once they had cleared up, his attention was brought to his MK-X remote, lying there on the floor untouched. He smirked, walking over to it and promptly picking it up. He dusted the dust and debris off it and was about to press the button when once again, he was suddenly distracted by a shower of bullets, making him curse.

Giorgio's helicopter had arrived, with Giorgio firing at him using the helicopter's mounted machine gun. Several other police helicopters followed closely behind, the men in them ready with their weapons.

"Curse you!" Wild Dog yelled in frustration, seeing how he couldn't get any peace to operate his remote. Throwing a hand grenade at the ICC's entrance to destroy the doors, he ran in for cover.

"I won't let you get away!" Giorgio shouted, jumping off his helicopter once it had gotten close enough to the ground. He quickly ran into the building after Wild Dog.

"Go! Go! Go!" One of the higher ranking officers shouted at his men from his helicopter.

The other helicopters landed, the policemen in them getting ready to provide Giorgio with backup. However, more of Wild Dog's men came to surround them from the side of the building, immediately engaging them in a shootout. They cursed, hoping that Giorgio would be able to stop Wild Dog by himself.

He was their last hope.


	11. Mandeville's Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I was going to run short/run out in the middle because we're just fighting against Wild Dog and Wild Fang, but apparently not.  
> I should thank the two of them for being awesome and coming up with various strategies for me XD

**【Chapter 11: Mandeville's Paradox】**

_Actions that may be vicious to individuals may benefit the society as a whole._

* * *

_Rooftop, International Commerce Centre, West Kowloon 23:31_

Through the rain of bullets between himself and Wild Fang, Steven swore that he just saw Wild Dog drop off the edge of the roof.

'What in the world?!' He thought.

"Agent Miller's down!" Raymond quickly informed as they ducked behind cover.

Steven looked there, tense. Richard was on the ground. Thankfully, that side of the roof had been cleared of enemies. Giorgio was standing there, frantically looking around and not finding a way to run after Wild Dog. Steven immediately called out to one of his men in a nearby helicopter, giving his orders.

" _Kuài qù bāng Bruno xiān sheng bǎ Wild Dog zhuā lái!_  (Hurry and help Mr. Bruno capture Wild Dog!)"

The helicopter pilot nodded, closing his distance towards the roof and calling out to Giorgio. Giorgio took the cue, jumping into the aircraft and heading towards the lower floors. The rest of the police helicopters followed them to provide support. Steven directed one last remaining helicopter to bring Richard to safety.

That side covered, he directed his attention back to Wild Fang and his men. Raymond had been shooting at them to cover for him while he commanded the police force. He was ready to rejoin the fight now.

"Let's do this!" Steven said, reloading his gun. Raymond nodded.

The two agents rushed out of their cover, taking down Wild Fang's underlings as they pushed forward. Wild Fang looked surprised at the sudden aggression, but he wasn't about to let up either.

The shootout continued with the enemy men. Eventually, Raymond took down the last of Wild Fang's underlings and was about to reload his gun, when he realized that he had run out of ammo. On the other hand, with some acrobatics, Steven had managed to successfully close in on Wild Fang, pointing his pistol at him and confidently pulling the trigger, only to have no bullet come out since he was out as well.

"...?!" He gasped in surprise. Fear gripped him when he suddenly felt the cold steel of Wild Fang's Mauser C96 pressed onto his forehead.

"Checkmate," Wild Fang smirked.

"Steven!" Raymond shouted in horror.

Mercilessly, Wild Fang pulled the trigger. Steven squeezed his eyes shut, thinking that his brains would have been blown out for sure. But when he didn't hear the dreaded sound of a bang, he peeked.

"What?!" Wild Fang jumped, pulling his gun back and repeatedly clicking down on the trigger, not believing that he was also out of bullets.

Wasting no time, Steven grabbed his gun and twisted it out of his hand, kicking him back. Wild Fang stuck out his leg to stop himself and regain balance. With a quick swing, Steven threw the criminal's empty gun to the edge of the roof, safely out of their reach.

"Steven!" Raymond yelled as he ran to his side protectively, glad that his best friend was alright. Wild Fang glared at them.

"If you think that this is over, you're wrong! You don't have your guns now," he said, lifting his leg and slamming it down against the floor, readying himself for a close quarter combat.

"Come at us with everything you've got," Raymond glared back, undaunted as he prepared himself in his Long Ying stance. Steven laughed at Wild Fang's words.

Reaching behind him, he pulled out a pair of butterfly knives from their sheaths, which had been carefully hidden under his suit coat. It had certainly been some time since anyone managed to push him this far, and he couldn't help but feel a little excited. Holding out his twin knives in front of him and readying his Wing Chun kung fu stance, Steven smirked at Wild Fang.

"To tell you the truth, we're more dangerous without our guns."

* * *

_1F, International Commerce Centre 23:41_

At the bottom of the ICC, Giorgio had followed Wild Dog into the ground floor. The spacious Elements shopping mall made up the ground floor of the ICC. As it was nearing midnight, all the shops had closed and there was thankfully no one in the area to get caught in the fight. Richard came in to speak to Giorgio through his earpiece despite his wounds.

"Mr. Bruno, the police had blocked off 1F and the basement floors for you so you can fight safely. We're evacuating the hotel and the offices of the higher floors through emergency exits and helicopters. Stop Wild Dog at all costs!"

"Copy that!" Giorgio replied as he chased Wild Dog through the wide passages of the shopping mall. The bandaged knife wound on his stomach was killing him despite its small size, but he forced himself to ignore it, just hoping that it wouldn't rip open.

A police helicopter lowered itself and flew sideways alongside the building outside, shooting through the glass at Wild Dog.

"Tch!" Wild Dog clicked his tongue in annoyance, changing his course and running down a nearby set of stairs into the car park of the ICC's basement floor for cover.

Giorgio continued chasing him. Being a very fast runner through his days of strict training as a member of Italy's NOCS, he eventually closed the distance. Once he was close enough, he flung himself at Wild Dog, throwing both of them to the ground just as Wild Dog reached the end of the stairs and arrived at the car park.

The deadly MK-X remote was thrown out of Wild Dog's hand, sliding across the floor. Giorgio held the criminal down by straddling him, pointing his gun at Wild Dog's head.

"End of the road, Wild Dog," Giorgio said, burning anger and hatred in his voice . He had finally come face to face with the man who had caused so much suffering for everyone in just one day.

Wild Dog panted under his gas mask, his hair disheveled and his face covered in sweat, trying to catch his breath and struggling against Giorgio's grip in vain. There was a look of terror in his face, and Giorgio thought that he had won, but then...

"Uh-oh~, it seemed that someone bit the bait  _again_ ," Wild Dog suddenly taunted mockingly, his scowl turning into an eerie smirk.

"What?!" Giorgio gased in shock.

"How long do you think I'll take just to press one button?! I've pressed it long backーthe moment I heard the rotor blades of your helicopters coming to the roof! The release of the MK-X fumes will commence at midnight, and there'll be nowhere for you to run! HahahaHAHA!" Wild Dog revealed, his evil laughter echoing chillingly through the empty car park.

Giorgio gritted his teeth, shocked, furious, panicked, surprised and a myriad other things which he was too frantic to identify.

Had they had been a little too optimistic? Clinging to the little hope that they could have stopped Wild Dog? Wild Dog had seen through it, and had used it to toy with them to the last second, buying himself more than enough time for his plans. Giorgio glanced at the watch peeking from under his sleeve, terrified.

_23:46_

He quickly stood up, still pointing his gun at Wild Dog and shouting at him.

"Pick up the remote!" He threatened in a hurry, "Pick up the remote and stop MK-X's release! ...Or else!"

"And what makes you think I'll listen?" Wild Dog grinned. "Shoot me, and no one would know how to operate that thing."

"...," Giorgio was at a loss. Wild Dog seemed to enjoy watching him suffer, laughing as he sat up. "You know, Mr. Bruno, I owe my huge success tonight to  _you_! Wouldn't have gotten here if you had just ignored your little friend's life."

Giorgio's shivering grip tightened on his gun, his breath and heartbeat quickening in anger. His finger rested dangerously on his trigger.

"Oh, your partner... How he screamed and called your name so beautifully when I injected him with the chemical. Would've been so happy if he knew that you actually came for him. Too bad you ended up not saving anyone in the end," Wild Dog continued, rubbing more salt into the wound, knowing that Giorgio couldn't touch him.

Finally fed up of being toyed with, Giorgio gave Wild Dog a hard strike across the face, slamming him back onto the ground.

"..." Breathing hard and trying to hold himself together but failing, Giorgio fell onto his hands and knees, desperate, not knowing what to do. He shook his head. Wild Dog's laughter filled the air. The battle had been lost.

Giorgio sank lower onto his elbows, holding his head in his hands. This was really all his fault. He played right into Wild Dog's trap, and not only did he fail to save that one life, now he wouldn't be able to save millions. The whole world had the right to blame him for this and he had never felt more cornered.

"Evan...," he called out hopelessly.

If only he could turn back timeーGo back to when he had just received Steven's call in the morning... When Evan was still there, lying safe and sound and peaceful and happy beside him. Maybe he could have warned his past selfーCould have just told Steven to postpone their meeting until the morning. Or maybe he could have just woken Evan up and asked him to come along. And then Evan would've been irritated to be awake so early, but at least he'd be safe within his field of vision and be within arm's reach. And after that they could have looked through the poison gas reports togethー

_...Reports._

Giorgio stopped his train of thoughts. Could the MK-X reports that Steven had dug up earlier possibly have something useful in them? He did his best to mentally flip through the pages he had read in the helicopter.

Wild Dog seemed to have installed the MK-X gas machines everywhere in crowded areas. The ICC, fitting the bill, had one installed in it as well. He should be able to find it in the lowest car park floorーB4.

A last resort idea came to mind.

* * *

Meanwhile on the roof, Steven and Raymond continued their battle against Wild Fang. To their dismay, Wild Fang turned out to be much harder to bring down or even get close to, owing to the speed and strength of his kicks.

Steven wondered what could have made his leg so strong. He dodged another kick which could have fractured or even broken his bones. Forced backwards, he almost tipped over the edge of the roof. Raymond grabbed him by his necktie and pulled him back. Wild Fang smirked, taking his chance. Running at Raymond, he kicked hard at his side from behind with a quick but firm swing of his leg.

"...!" Raymond felt a sickening crack in his right arm as he was then flung through the air by the inhuman force of the kick. He crashed against the tiles on the other side of the roof, sliding and falling off the edge. Luckily, he made it in time to grab at the edge with his left hand and prevent himself from falling to his death.

"...," Raymond panted. He would have quickly climbed back up if he could, but found his right arm unusable, hanging painfully by his side. He looked down in horror past his feet, at the ground that was over a hundred floors below.

"Raymond!" Steven shouted. But with Wild Fang coming at him next, he couldn't let his guard down. Dodging another kick, Steven leapt back towards the center of the roof to prevent getting knocked off the edge himself. He pointed one of his knives cautiously at Wild Fang, glaring at him.

"What's the matter? Go help your friend if you're worried about him," Wild Fang laughed, taunting.

Steven glanced to the side of the roof where Raymond was, seeing him struggle as his grip was slowly slipping. All of him wanted to run there and pull him up, but if he tried to do that, he'd be exposing his back to Wild Fang and the criminal would have a free chance of kicking them both off the roof. Faced with the difficult decision, he closed his eyes and sighed in resentment.

_'Sorry, Raymond.'_

Steven leapt forward, charging at Wild Fang with his twin knives. Wild Fang smirked, ready to take him on again. But Steven suddenly coming at him with an aggressive slash of his butterfly knife caught him off guard.

"Hey! Hey! I thought you're supposed to catch me alive!" Wild Fang protested, dodging another murderous slash. Steven's usually benign expression had transformed into a dark, twisted grin.

"As long as we catch you alive, I don't CARE if you end up missing a limb or two!" He laughed.

The Wing Chun Baat Jaam Dou form's techniques were after all, mainly designed to slaughter the enemy with the use of the twin butterfly knives. So far, Steven had been holding back, not wanting to do too much harm to their future interrogation target. But if cutting him up a little would ensure his capture and reduce casualties, then by all means, he had the reason to pull off all stops.

"FUCK!" Wild Fang had the right to be scared now, evading another slash. Steven looked like he was serious in cutting off one of his legs. With him keeping the blade of one knife always ready to defend against any incoming kicks, Wild Fang couldn't even think of trying to attack him.

With Wild Fang getting distracted and panicked enough, Steven soon found an opening. Rushing in, he smacked the criminal on his head with the butt of his knife.

"OWW!" Wild Fang yelled loudly, holding the slowly bruising part as he whimpered.

Steven instantly followed up with a strong kick to the side of his head for a good measure, awesomely throwing his purple glasses off their rightful place and sending him crashing roughly onto the ground. Wild Fang trembled weakly against the roof tiles.

"Uuuuuu...," his quiet, miserable sobs trailed off as his consciousness slowly faded away.

Meanwhile at the edge of the roof, Raymond's grip was failing him. Try as he might, the tips of his fingers couldn't support his weight any longer. He couldn't see or hear what was happening on the rooftop, but he could only hope that Steven had won. Whatever the result, he had done his best, so he closed his eyes, smiling in contentment. He slipped off the edge.

To his surprise, he suddenly felt a tight grip around his wrist. Raymond's eyes shot open and he looked up.

"Raymond!" Steven shouted as he knelt there at the edge, catching him just in time.

"Steven..?!"

"Don't let go!"

With all the strength he could muster, Steven tried to pull Raymond up, struggling with the bigger and heavier man. Raymond helped him, grabbing onto the roof's edge again once Steven had pulled him high enough. With Steven's support and enough perseverance, he managed to climb back safely onto the rooftop. falling down next to his friend.

They laid there together, panting for awhile, absorbing the quiet peace around them and thankful that they were both still alive. Raymond saw that Steven had managed to knock Wild Fang unconscious. The suitcase with the antidote also laid there safely at one corner of the roof. He looked back at his colleague.

"Steven... Thanks."

"Don't worry about it!" Steven laughed in satisfaction, glad that everything went well in the end. He fiddled with his earpiece, and was just about to contact Richard to report the happy news about Wild Fang's capture, but then Giorgio came in first.

"Everyone! The remote! Wild Dog had pressed it long back when we had just arrived. The MK-X gas would be released at midnight!" Giorgio reported in a hurry.

"Haha, very funny Mr. Bruno... Say, WHAT?!"

* * *

_B3, International Commerce Centre 23:51_

Giorgio ran down the stairwell between B3 and B4 hastily, MK-X remote in one hand and a handcuffed Wild Dog in the other, reporting the situation.

"10 minutes left! What in the world are we supposed to do?!" Steven panicked on the other end of the line.

"If you can talk that much, I guess you've defeated Wild Fang?" Giorgio asked.

"...Yeah? We did. The antidote's safe!" Steven confirmed.

"Good," Giorgio replied in relief. He noted Wild Dog stiffening a little at that, but he quickly spoke to Steven again.

"Look, I don't have time to explain, but I have an idea. Just get some people to come down here for us by midnight!"

"...Copy that," Steven said with hesitation, trying to calm down. Whatever Giorgio's plan was, they'd be all dead if he failed. There wasn't even enough time left to evacuate anyone anywhere. Looking out to the city that laid before him, he could only wait and hope.

* * *

Upon arriving at B4, Giorgio rushed in and headed to a storage room at one side of the car park. Once he reached it, he threw open its door.

Sure enough, as he had seen in Steven's decoded reports, one of the MK-X gas machines had been installed there, hidden in a far corner of the roomーa large metal tank pulsing purple like the giant cocoon of a monster. Closing the door behind him, Giorgio strode towards it quickly, dragging Wild Dog along by his arm.

Once he stood in front of the gas tank, he yanked Wild Dog's gas mask off his face. He studied the gas mask for a moment, noticing that it had a tearーMust have been damaged somewhere during their long struggle. Well, it was useless now, so he discarded it onto the floor.

"If you think bringing me down with you would make me change my mind, that wouldn't work," Wild Dog smirked confidently. "My men would simply come down here for me with the antidote after midnight, while you'd be left writhing on the floor with everyone else!"

"Oh, we'll see who ends up writhing on the floor," Giorgio replied defiantly.

He placed his hand onto one of the pipes sticking out of the gas tank. Remembering the labels in the reports, the gas would be flowing in this pipe right now. Giorgio bit his lip, not sure if he was ready for this.

_23:54_

There was no time to think. This had to be done.

Unscrewing the fastener at the top of the pipe, Giorgio yanked it open, releasing a concentrated whiff of the purple MK-X gas into the air. He coughed and choked at it, and so did Wild Dog, despite both of them trying to hold their breath. Giorgio immediately fastened the pipe back before more of the gas could escape the tank, preventing any substantial amount from escaping out of the storage room into the city above.

A few seconds later, he was suddenly struck by a sharp headache, and here began his living hell.

The storage room lit up, its walls thick pillars of flames. The concrete floor had turned into the bloodied, expensive carpets of a mansion. Theseーthe most horrifying memories in his life that he had tried to lock away with all his might, and the effects of the MK-X gas was forcing him to relive it.

Sweat pouring down his forehead, Giorgio took a step back, and his heel bumped against something. He looked down with dread. The dead bodies of his parents and siblings laid there face down in a puddle of blood. That same blood slowly began to creep up his shoes and soak his clothes and hands. Giorgio held back the urge to throw up.

Countless familiar faces of dead people who were members of the mob formed in the shadows ahead, surrounding him from behind the wall of flames, all their pistols loaded and pointed at him. ' _È tutta colpa vostra!_  (It's all your fault!)' They shouted repeatedly, their loud, accusing voices an ominous chant that overlapped in a disturbing manner. The world spinning around him and trying to eat him alive, Giorgio blocked his ears with his hands and screamed, feeling as though his mind, body and soul were being ripped apart from the inside.

_"THIS IS NOT REAL!"_

He screamed loudly in his head, trying to regain control of his sanity. Forcing himself to look up, he searched for Wild Dog. The old man was on his knees on the floor there a little away from him, holding his head in pain, seemingly being terrorized by his own visions as he cried and apologized repeatedly, frantic.

Giorgio didn't know that Wild Dog was even still capable of crying, and wondered what the criminal could be seeing. Many evils had rooted from mistreatment at a young age, and he thought about the possibility. But there was no time to worry about it right now. Giorgio felt a little glad that at least, his plan seemed to be working.

Trying not to get distracted by the nightmare that had come to full life all around him, Giorgio forced himself to move and staggered forward, grabbing Wild Dog by the collar and forcing him up. Holding out the MK-X remote in front of him, he shouted fervently at Wild Dog.

"You! I know how you're feeling. It's painfulー _Very_  painful, isn't it?" He began, trying hard to speak through his killer headache. "But it's not too late. Cancel your plans for tonight's attack... and you'll be forgiven!"

'The patient would suffer from extreme hallucinations and disorientation, making them susceptible to suggestions and the overwriting of memories,' Giorgio remembered Richard's explanations, and it had never been more true.

Sobbing, Wild Dog nodded, taking the remote and operating it by himself with miserable, shivering hands.

 _'23:59:59 CANCELLED'_  The bright red letters beeped on the small screen at the top of the remote.

Giorgio smiled in relief. Feeling that his job was done, his exhaustion caused him to let go of himself, letting the MK-X in his system eat away at what little sane mind he still managed to keep.

Tired, he let the entire mob surrounding him from behind the flames shoot him down.


	12. Service Recovery Paradox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Last chapter. One week behind schedule, but I finished it! Yay for 12 chapters in 13 days! Fastest on my track record as of now XD
> 
> \- We started with talking about Rio in Ch.1? We end with talking about Rio in the last chapter!  
> *proceeds to import things from Ch.1 of The Rainbow Monocerus' 'The Rio Mission'* (from fanfiction.net)
> 
> \- The epilogue's like that because I'm a little shit :DDD (June Ellie's interesting 'Time Crisis: Temporal Fates' had successfully multiplied my interest in *spoiler*)
> 
> \- Trivia collection in the next chapter!

**【Chapter 12: Service Recovery Paradox】**

_Success in fixing a problem with a defective product may lead to higher consumer satisfaction, compared to when no problem occurred at all._

* * *

The Hong Kong MK-X case was one that would stir up many controversies and uproar even among the highest ranking VSSE officials and their board of directors.

Field operative Giorgio Bruno had gone against the organization's protocolーKeeping information, breaking the rules, ignoring his orders, cooperating with criminals, going against the local law and authorities, putting the lives of fellow agents and civilians in danger... His actions had enraged the bosses and veteran agents to no end, and they feared that being lenient on one rotten apple would eventually spoil the discipline of all their other operatives.

On the other hand, Agent Bruno had also shown much virtue and exemplary behavior throughout the caseーPerseverance, caring for the lives of others, responsibility, tact, teamwork, self-sacrifice... The fact that his actions ended up with the discovery of Wild Dog's bigger plot, as well as the capture of both Wild Dog and Wild Fang in the end, certainly did well in earning the nods and commendations of a great number of the other agents and higher ups.

Through their long winded meetings and arguments which went on for several days, the VSSE's meeting room was continuously filled with fervent shouting, gnashed teeth, balled fists, much sweat, and frowned brows, both sides neither winning nor coming to a clear conclusionーThe votes for Agent Bruno's fate was divided into a clean 50-50.

Should they dismiss him and put him in jail before he could cause more havoc and danger to the public and the VSSE's reputation? Or should they let him stay and reward him with a medal for his unflinching efforts and sacrifice in successfully capturing the world's most feared terrorists?

The choice was one of the two extremes.

Life or death?

Hay or water...?

Soon, Agent Richard Miller, heavily bandaged and supported by a crutch after his difficult Hong Kong mission, entered the room with his reports. Among them were letters from the Hong Kong agents Steven, Raymond and Herman. Taking in a deep breath, Richard gave the room a heartfelt speech, recounting all the struggles that they had faced and worked hard to overcome during the mission. His audience listened attentively, their breath taken away.

And with contentment, Richard smiled. Placing a little white feather on the VSSE's perfectly balanced scales, he gently tipped it over to one side.

* * *

_One week later, The Limão no Coco Hotel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 9:16_

It was a beautiful morning in Rio. The automatic front doors of the luxurious Limão no Coco Hotel opened and out of it came Evan, dressed in his casual clothes and humming a happy tune. He was pushing a wheelchair in front of him, on which sat Giorgio. An open paper box containing some dulche de leche-stuffed banana fritters, which had been their favourite out of the hotel's complimentary gifts, laid on his lap.

After the end of the Hong Kong case, Giorgio and Evan had been given a much deserved holiday without even having to ask for it. "Consider it a recovery leave. Thanks for your hard work," the Director had told them with satisfaction. He had also told them that the VSSE would handle the expenses for their leaveーa gift and compensation for all the unexpected trouble, as well as for the capture of Wild Dog.

And so, Giorgio and Evan had opted to go to Rio again, thinking that the beautiful scenery would be good for their relaxation and mental health.

" _Je n'en reviens pas!_  (I can't believe it!) Two paid trips to Rio! Lucky~," Evan laughed. Giorgio glared up at him incredulously.

"It was all  _my_  work. You'd better thank me. A lot! And with interest!" He demanded, pretending to be angry.

That one day of running all over Hong Kong while having to make all the difficult decisions was probably the most stressful day of his life. On the other hand, Evan had just spent it laid strapped to the bed, although Giorgio was pretty sure that having a horrible nightmare that was so real for some 20 hours straight couldn't be anything entertaining either.

"Of course! Of course!" Evan laughed. "I'll be your slave for this entire trip. Ask me to do anything you want!"

"Anything?"

" _N'importe quoi!_  Anything!"

Evan was thankful. Giorgio did save his life after all, going as far as fighting against Richard and the higher ups for it. Evan almost got a heart attack when he read the reports about the case. Although he'd prefer it never happening, he would have been totally fine with Giorgio just leaving him to die if the situation had gotten that bad. But Giorgio didn't, and it had made all the difference.

Once the Hong Kong case had ended, Wild Dog and Wild Fang had been sent to the VSSE's maximum security prison for questioning, in the VSSE's efforts to root out all their allies and take down the Wild Dog syndicate for good. All the agents involved in the case had luckily survived, albeit with heavy injuries.

When Evan came to after being given the antidote and realized what he had done, he had apologized profusely to Herman, who only laughed and told him that it wasn't his fault. In the meantime, Steven and Raymond, having started out not trusting Giorgio, had acknowledged him after seeing the grit which he had displayed in their final battle. Evan and Giorgio had then said their farewells to the Hong Kong agents, looking forward to the news of Herman's recovery.

As for themselves, over the week after the case, the strong hallucinations caused by the exposure to MK-X had also faded away slowly, although it still left behind some occasional traces of nightmares and nausea. Giorgio, having inhaled a concentrated version of the gas, seemed to be taking a little longer to recover, so Evan had taken it upon himself to return the favor, taking care of his partner for as long as it takes until he gets back to full health.

"In that case...," Giorgio said in reply to Evan's earlier words, rubbing his chin in contemplation as he thought of how best to use his friend's service.

"Be my tour guide and set up our itinerary for this entire trip!" He started, keeping up his pretense of being an unhappy customer, "And I've promised to spend this holiday having fun with you, so think of something we can both do with me in a wheelchair!"

Evan beamed with joy.

"Your word's my command, monsieur!" He said happily, and off they went to greet the new day in the comfort of Rio's warm sunshine and beautiful landscape.

**【END】**

* * *

**【Epilogue】**

Rooftop, International Commerce Centre, West Kowloon, Hong Kong 22:13

It had been a little over a week after the MK-X incident. The panic and fear having died down, Kowloon had gone back to its usual bustling and entertaining city life. The ICC had been blocked off for awhile for investigations, but had been reopened soon enough, the police and the VSSE being quick with their work. Like the rest of the city, it went back to operating as it usually would, while the construction workers worked on repairing the damaged sections caused by the attack.

A calm and cool night breeze came in from the beautiful seas surrounding the industrial islands of Hong Kong, blowing quietly over the ICC's rooftop. It was all silent, until the sound of footsteps was heard as someone walked up the set of stairs to the roof.

Wild Fang's purple glasses, which had been struck off during his fight, laid there near the middle of the roof in forlorn abandonment, caked in dust and water marks from rain and wind, one of its lenses cracked. The mysterious figure stopped next to it, his dark blue coat swaying lightly in the gentle wind. Bending down, he picked up the glasses and studied it. He shook his head in pity.

To think that the eternally elusive Wild Dog pair had been captured... It was quite unbelievable, considering that the two would normally blow themselves up and escape some way or the other. Even so, the man couldn't help but think that their capture itself would be beneficial to him for certain, considering the bigger scheme of things.

_Sow the seeds now, and the harvest would be abundant and handsome later._

It was the most golden of opportunities.

The man smirked, various strategies of how to release the freshly captured criminals already forming in his head. It would be their freedom in exchange for their loyalty. Satisfied with how things were turning out, he tucked the pair of purple glasses safely in his pocket.

Turning around, VSSE agent Robert Baxter triumphantly exited the stage.

**【Epilogue End】**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This story's trivia collection in the next chapter →)


	13. Trivia Collection

**【Trivia Collection】**

**【Title】**

The title 'Hay or Water?' is derived from the paradox of 'Buridan's Ass', in which a donkey that is equally hungry and thirsty is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water.

Mainly a situation where both choices are of equal importance, and therefore, a choice cannot be made.

The theme for this fic's chapter titles are all paradoxes because we're mainly dealing with Giorgio breaking the rules and making choices that an agent of justice usually wouldn't make, putting him in various contradictory situations :D

* * *

**【Name Meanings】**

Steven Wang  
→ Steven = crown  
→ Wang = king

Raymond Long  
→ Raymond = protector  
→ Long = dragon

Herman Long  
→ Herman = army man  
→ Long = dragon

**Notes:**

One leader with his two dragon protectorsーRaymond being the more serious and down-to-earth shield, while Herman's the more reckless and idealistic sword.

* * *

**【Hong Kong】**

Hong Kong things appearing in the fic. Image search is your friend for beautiful photos XD

 **Organizations:  
** Star Ferry Company, Hong Kong Police Force ( HKPF / 香港警務處 )

 **Food:  
** Siu mai, fishballs, fried chestnuts, egg waffles, rice noodle roll, congee

 **Beverages:  
** leong cha (Chinese herbal tea)

 **Places & Buildings:**  
Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong Island, Stanley Prison,  
Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong International Airport,  
Wan Chai, Wan Chai District, Kowloon Walled City Park, Kowloon City,  
Kowloon Walled City, International Commerce Centre, Elements shopping mall.

 **Transport:  
** The Shining Star (Star ferry), HKPF police car

 **Kung Fu:**  
Southern Dragon Kung Fu ( 龍形摩橋 / lóng xíng mó qiáo / long ying mo kiu)  
→ literally 'dragon shape rubbing bridges'

Wing Chun ( 詠春 / yǒng chūn / wihng cheūn )  
→ literally 'spring chant'

Baat Jaam Dou form ( 八斬刀 / bā zhǎn dāo / baat jáam dōu )  
→ literally 'eight slashing knives'

Butterfly knives  
→ historically also known as Dit Ming Do ('Life-Taking Knives')

 **Other:**  
A Symphony of Lights (Victoria Harbour lights show)

* * *

**【Project MKUltra】**

3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate (BZ)  
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)

* * *

**【Paradoxes】**

Three paradoxes that I'd have loved to use, but couldn't because they didn't fit anywhere in the story T-T

 **Ship of Theseus**  
_Even if you replace one component of a ship with a new one, it's still the same ship. However, if you replace all of the ship's components, one at a time, until all the old ones are gone, can you still call it the same ship?_

 **Hedgehog's Dilemma**  
_Despite goodwill, human intimacy cannot occur without substantial mutual harm, resulting in cautious behavior and weak relationships._

 **Paradox of Hedonism  
** _When one pursues happiness itself, one is miserable; but, when one pursues something else, one achieves happiness._

* * *

**【Production Notes】**

\- Originally didn't plan on having Steven, Raymond and Herman at all to make the fic short and simple. But as I write, the fic turned bigger by itself and it became difficult to get things to flow smoothly without any supporting cast, so there you go~

\- Originally thought of letting Evan come back after Stage 2 so he can join Giorgio in fighting Wild Dog. But then that would solve the main conflict of 'saving Evan' too fast, so I was like, naaaahh~ Too bad, Giorgio ;D

\- Making sure that the OCs don't steal the spotlight from the main cast can be quite the balancing act. In 'Where the Dog is Buried', I feel like I pushed Natalya and Aleksandr too much into the background that they might as well not exist x.x So I tried giving Steven and co. a little breathing space this time ^^

\- Limiting the time range of when the story took place certainly kept the pacing up. Problem is, there's no time to look at the scenery and culture~ TuT

\- Doing TC's 3 stage structure again this time! In case you're wondering, I wrote the plot for this entire fic in 10 minutes. Something like this:

 **【Logline】  
** Hong Kong. Giorgio must fight his fellow agents, find Wild Dog, and save a kidnapped Evan. All while risking a captured Wild Fang being released.

**【Plot】**

**Prologue**  
Giorgio's promise to Evan.  
Wild Fang getting captured, Evan getting kidnapped.  
Wild Dog's demands.

 **Stage 1**  
Location: Stanley Prison  
Objective: Free Wild Fang  
Boss Battle: Richard

 **Stage 2**  
Location: Underground Kowloon Walled City  
Objective: Rescue Evan  
Boss Battle: Evan

 **Stage 3**  
Location: International Commerce Centre, top floor  
Objective: Catch Wild Dog  & Wild Fang, obtain antidote for Evan.  
Boss Battle: Wild Dog, Wild Fang

 **Epilogue**  
Everything ending safely.  
Giorgio keeping his promise.

^This is all I have when I started writing. Then I just toss everyone in and let them write their own story OuO  
I feel like I still have lots to improve on, but have this for now XD

* * *

**【Extra】**

\- My head was in kind of a mess when I started out because of real life being busy. But writing this certainly cheered me up and I thank June Ellie, The Rainbow Monocerus and noodlebirdie for being so supportive and always making my day! Huge thanks! :D

\- Thanks to noodlebirdie, noodlebirdie's mom, June Ellie, and my mom for confirmation with the 大哥 and 哥哥 problem!

\- I'm not from Hong Kong or China, but I'm 100% of Chinese descent and grew up with mostly Chinese culture. It's fun to see our food and customs overlap XDDD

\- My Chinese is rusty because I haven't used it for like 10 years :p

Thank you so much for reading! I totally had fun writing this and hope you had fun, too! XD  
Now I'll be off to catch up and write my next fic for this month (My '1 long fic per month rule' still applies! Expect one more finished one by the end of this month!)

On the other hand, I'm thinking of maybe attaching a oneshot of this fic from Evan's POV after this chapter. (We have too little of our damsel in distress here XDDD)  
Stick around if you're interested! :DD

* * *

(Evan POV oneshot in the next chapter →)


	14. Paradox of Fiction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole fic from Evan's point of view. Enjoy the suffering ;D
> 
> *Because the TC4 wikia has a LOT of missing information, for those who didn't know, I'll just tell you that Evan was scouted into the VSSE for his outstanding performance during a huge maritime disaster when he was still in the French Coast Guard. (Info from the TC4 official Japanese site)  
> (I seriously can't trust the wikia because sometimes it mistranslates and even pulls out nonsense info out of nowhere. Someone please fix it~ TuT)

**【Paradox of Fiction】**

_How can people experience strong emotions from purely fictional things?_

* * *

_Wild Dog's secret base, Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong 04:45_

Evan couldn't believe it.

Just a few hours ago after a very successful mission, he was having the time of his life with Giorgio. They had made promises of having a relaxing holiday together, something that he was certainly looking forward to. When he fell asleep in their hotel, he had even brought that happiness all the way into his dreams.

To be suddenly woken up by Wild Dog stuffing a chloroform-soaked handkerchief into his face, and then awakening tied up to a chair in the criminal's underground secret base was completely unexpected. To make things even worse, Wild Dog had decided to use him as a bargaining chip to get Giorgio to release Wild Fang. And oh the horror, Giorgio had agreed!

Evan panted, spitting out some blood which had pooled up in his mouth after Wild Dog had struck him, a gesture to show Giorgio that he meant his threat. He struggled against his ropes in vain, only managing to hurt his wrists.

Once the higher ups found out about this, they'd certainly tell Giorgio to stop his actions. Or maybe Giorgio would realize his errors before he could get here and turn around. Not that Evan minded itーAs a VSSE agent, it was his job to put the mission and the safety of the world before his own life. Evan knew the risks, but still, he had never felt how worthless the value of his life actually was.

_"Trading such an important criminal for just one little junior agent? Unacceptable!"_

Wild Dog's words echoed in his head. He didn't want to admit it, but it hurt. As the words repeated themselves in his head, he suddenly lost all the fight in him, discouraged, slumping hopelessly against his ropes.

Evan wondered how he was never afraid of death when he was charging at the enemies during his missions. Perhaps it was the adrenaline. Perhaps it was because he was confident that nothing could kill him. Perhaps because he knew that Giorgio would always have his back... But being tied here knowing that he could die any second with nothing he could do was completely something else. He would die alone and no one would even know.

Evan looked to the ground with frustration and fear, doing his best not to panic. Soon, Wild Dog, having finished his call with Giorgio and done with giving his men their next orders, walked over to him. He grabbed Evan forcefully by his jaw, making him look up. Evan's blue eyes glared cold daggers at him.

"Sucks to be tied up with nothing to do, doesn't it?" Wild Dog smirked. "But not to worryーI have something that I've been wanting to test out. Rest assured, Mr. Bernard, your stay here won't be boring."

* * *

Much to his dread, Evan soon found himself being strapped onto a bed in a dimly lit room. The top buttons of his shirt had been opened, and some electrodes had been stuck to his head and chest. The medical monitor to his left beeped ominously.

He had been moved to a lab building of sorts. As Wild Dog's men dragged him down the hall earlier, he heard bloodcurdling screams and desperate moans from the many rooms lining the corridor. ...Wild Dog's test subjects? Was he doing some human experiments? Lying there in his room, Evan was certainly didn't want to think about what was going to happen to him.

Soon enough, Wild Dog entered with three assistant scientists in lab coats and surgical masks. They brought with them clipboards and a silver tray. On it, the tray had several medical equipments as well as, what disturbed Evan the most, a syringe containing some purple liquid. What  _is_  that thing?

The assistant scientists set the tray down on a table to his right. Wild Dog put on his medical gloves. His assistants got ready with their clipboards and pens. Evan's heartbeat quickened.

"Oh, Mr. Bernard, you don't have to be so tense," Wild Dog said smilingly, tidying his gloves, "I just wanted to show you something that I've been working on for years. After a lot of patience, blood and tears, it's finally done and trust me, it turned out to be truly a masterpiece."

It couldn't be anything good. Was he preparing a chemical weapon to terrorize the world with next? Without a word, Evan just watched him cautiously, glaring. He glanced anxiously at the syringe on the table.

"You know...," Wild Dog started, turning towards the table and taking an alcohol swab from the tray. "I've tested this drug on various subjects, and found that those with a stronger willpower have a much stronger resistance to it. I can't have that now, can I? So I've been working hard to increase its effectiveness."

He turned to Evan, rolling up his captive's sleeve a little over his elbow. Evan pulled hopelessly against his restraints.

"Now, I know that you VSSE agents certainly have a rock hard mental capacity, what with your military training, strict screenings and all. It had always troubled me whether or not this chemical would work on you. What if my plans failed at the last second because the drug's not strong enough?"

Evan turned away, wincing as he felt the cold of the alcohol swab rubbed onto his arm. His breathing quickened and he gulped nervously. Wild Dog put the swab away, taking the syringe and preparing it with care.

"Lucky for me, I was able to get my hands on you. Now I can finally be sure if I've perfected the drug. Hahahaha," he laughed, sending a chill down Evan's spine. The fear that he had been holding back overwhelmed him like a wave.

_Giorgio...!_

Evan struggled hard against his restraints as Wild Dog held down his arm. His actions were in vainーHe was but a fly caught in the spider's nest. He gasped when he felt the syringe being pricked into him, the unwelcome drug intruding his body and burning him alive.

First, it was only nausea as his surroundings began to spin, but then it quickly turned into a stabbing headache. The world seemed to melt away into something ugly and scary around him. The rest felt as though his very soul was being forcefully ripped out. In the midst of all that, Wild Dog's evil laughter rang through the room and echoed in his head.

Evan screamed, and his twenty long hours of pain and suffering began.

* * *

If Giorgio saw fire, Evan saw water.

The room he was in had rusted away and turned into the bridge of a large, luxurious ship. The giant windows surrounding the room showed that he had been caught in a thunderstorm. Raging thunders and fearsome lightning lit up the darkness of the night outside, revealing in flashes tall and monstrous tsunami-like waves surrounding him from all directions.

' _Non... Pas encore!_  (No... Not again!)'

It was the first thought that came to mind as Evan remembered the event all too wellーsomething that he'd rather not have repeated.

A sudden jerk. The bridge tilted sharply, and Evan was flung down onto the wall behind him. The dark waters of the night gushed in from under him and the whole bridge was suddenly submerged. A giant wave had swallowed the ship, and it was quickly sinking.

Evan looked around. There was no door to leave the bridge from. He swam upwards, banging hard against the windows. But they wouldn't break.

Eventually, he ran out of breath. Unimaginable pain seized him as the thick seawater filled his throat and lungs. He choked and choked, suffocating, but never dying. Suffering as he continued to drown, voices began to fill his head.

_"Stop! Evan's a lost cause! If you go and try to save him now, you'll get yourself killed!"_

_"Whenever he gets into trouble, it's always his own fault anyway!"_

_"When he chose this job, he knew the risks."_

Feeling hurt and in pain, Evan choked, gripping his chest and leaning against the windows for some form of support.

He'd die here and no one would know. No one was coming here to save him. No one even cared. He was just a worthless pawn and his life meant nothing.

Mind grasping desperately for a lifeline, his partner surfaced in his memories.

"Giorgio...  _Non..._  Don't want to... be here... Help..."

* * *

Evan didn't know how long it had been.

The ship had sunken all the way to the bottom of the sea. He had stopped struggling, exhausted. Letting himself just be suspended in the dark waters with his back pressed against the bridge's windows, Evan looked at the world through dead, half lidded eyes. The waters continued suffocating him to the point of numbness. He wanted to die.

Then suddenly, he felt comfort. Someone pulled him into his arms, caressing his hair. The sensation was heavenly compared to how numb and hurt the rest of his body felt.

"Shh... It's alright now," Wild Dog reassured. Such a kind and gentle man didn't register as a criminal in Evan's foggy mind. He leaned in to his chest, sobbing, starving and begging for mercy and any form of kindness.

"It was the VSSE...," Wild Dog told him quietly. "They told you that they had recruited you for being a promising agent but really, they just wanted to see you suffer. And they're not afraid of discarding you at a moment's notice."

His organization was that evil?! How could he not have known? Wild Dog smirked.

"As long as you continue to let yourself be their toy, nowhere is safe. They'll be coming for you soon. Give it all you've got and win back your freedom."

* * *

After that, Evan couldn't be sure what happened.

The inside of his head had drowned into a whole muddled mess. The only thing he could feel was fear and panic. He remembered stabbing someone and shooting at someone else. But everything was a blur, and he didn't recognize their faces. They seemed to be shouting something at him, but he couldn't hear them. His body felt as though it was moving on its own.

Then someone came and choked him, and darkness swallowed him whole.

* * *

_"Evan... Evan! Look at me. It's Giorgio. I'm here, alright? Everything's okay. You're safe now."_

_"You're my important partner and I won't trade you for anything. Promise."_

_"EVAN!"_

Words that he had heard, or thought that he had heard, came back to him in the darkness, muted, jumbled. Eyes closed, Evan felt as though he was drowning even further, somewhere where no one would be able to reach him for certain.

_Lies. No one cares. You're all leaving me here to die._

He continued sinking and falling into the all-consuming darkness for the longest of times. And then he felt someone hold him.

* * *

When he opened his eyes, Evan was standing in the middle of a ship's control room.

"...?!"

All the walls surrounding him were covered by monitor screens. In them, he saw Giorgio, breaking Wild Fang free, fighting the police, fighting Richard, going against the higher ups' orders, coming to save him, getting hurt, calling his name repeatedly... Evan looked on and watched in disbelief, eyes wide, his breath caught.

"Evan...," he heard a familiar, weak voice behind him.

"...!" He turned around and gasped. Giorgio was there on the floor in a puddle of blood. He was holding his bleeding stomach, teeth gritted in pain.

" _Tonton!_  Giorgio..!" He shoved the chairs in the room out of his way, rushing towards his fallen partner. Falling onto his knees, he hurriedly pulled Giorgio into his arms.

"Giorgio! No... Giorgio...!" Evan called out frantically. Giorgio's blood stained his hands as he pulled him closer. His tears won't stop flowing. He didn't want Giorgio to die.

"No... Please...! Don't do this...," Evan sobbed, shaking his head.

"...Evan?" He suddenly heard. Opening his eyes, he saw Giorgio looking up at him worriedly, eyes watering as he saw his partner again after all his struggles. Giorgio's hand reached up to touch Evan's cheek, rubbing away his tears gently.

" _Tonton...?_ "

"Evan...!" Giorgio repeated, his voice quivering as he tried to hold back stinging tears. Evan looked at him, tears that had formed anew dripping onto Giorgio's cheek.

_Someone does care. Someone threw everything away and fought so hard just for me... Giorgio...!_

" _Tonton..._  You did your best," Evan closed his eyes, talking in a gentle, reassuring voice. He held onto Giorgio's hand that was on his cheek and leaned in, resting his forehead softly against Giorgio's. "Thank you for having fought so bravely for me... RestーGo back to sleep now..."

He held Giorgio tightly, and they stayed that way for awhile, before a blinding but comforting whiteout swallowed the both of them.

* * *

The next moment, Evan found himself back at the bottom of the ocean, arms and legs bound tightly together by the heavy, rusty chains of an anchor. The seawater filled his lungs again. Familiar pain and numbness returning to him, he knew how futile his struggles were. His momentary comfort was gone, and Giorgio was nowhere in sight.

" _Non..._  Giorgio...! Don't go...," he called out desperately.

No answer came back. But just as he thought that he was being abandoned again, someone held his hand tightly, and it was more like he felt the reply rather than heard it.

_Evan. I'm here._

"..."

Those words... The strange but soothing sensation that there was someone next to him in these quiet and lonely depths...

The deep waters around him may be dark, cold and frightening, but Evan felt warm inside. Closing his eyes, he smiled in contentment, realizing that his fear and pain was only fictional. No matter how long it took, he knew for certain that Giorgio would eventually come for him.

Suspended in the freezing waters, he curled up and waited patiently.

**【END】**


End file.
